


Seeing Red

by Kyro_James



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Blood and Violence, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Possessive Behavior, Red Kryptonite, Red Kryptonite Kara Danvers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:29:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28103223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyro_James/pseuds/Kyro_James
Summary: “I do know you.” Supergirl’s voice is soft and tender, a contrast to the wildfire that blazed in her blue eyes. “And you know me. Look at me, Lena.” She complies, locking gazes with Supergirl. “Really look at me.” Lena notes the pleading tone in the hero’s voice and takes a moment to look deeply into those bold, azure eyes. Even though they were intense, even though they were filled with an anger Lena has never seen before, they were also familiar. Why was that? This kind of familiarity came with knowing someone intimately. She didn’t have that kind of relationship with Supergirl, it was strictly business. No, there was only one pair of blue eyes Lena had spent what felt like a lifetime staring into. And now she realized, she was staring into them now as well. They were darker than normal with a hint of mischief, anger and wickedness but they were still her eyes. Kara’s eyes.Kara is Supergirl.AKA Kara comes into contact with red kryptonite instead of harun-el during season 4
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 201
Kudos: 471





	1. Blue Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because Kara on red kryptonite was the hottest thing ever and I really would’ve liked to see more of that. Inspired by S01 EP16 and the first half of S04 but the story does not stick to the canon stuff. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> *Just felt the need to add that if you do not enjoy chaos and dark themes this might not be the story for you. If you do, come get your fill!

Lena closes her eyes, dulling one of her fives senses to make her sense of taste more profound. She practically purrs as the dry wine washes over her tongue. It was a long day, she needed it. Hell, she earned it. National City was still reeling from the terraforming event and Lena was doing whatever she could to help the rebuilding efforts, much like she had after the Daxamite invasion. Only difference this time, no one was accusing her of trying to assuage her guilt. At least not publicly. She swirls the red liquid around in the glass and pulls up another spreadsheet on her laptop. Her quick eyes study the content intensely as she idly takes another sip. She jumps a little when her rings, breaking her out of focus. The first instinct to curse at the disruption flares up but then she remembers, she has friends now. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that, even though it’s been a few years. 

“Hello.”

“Lena.” Alex’s frantic voice catches Lena off guard and she immediately puts her wineglass down. “Lena, I know it’s late but I need your help.” 

“What’s wrong?” Lena asks, her lip quivering. She dreads Alex’s next words, a million worst case scenarios already flooding her mind. Alex rarely called her, they had a texting relationship and it was always light conversations, GIFs and emojis. So, Alex calling her now, with that tone to her voice spelt disaster. 

“It’s Supergirl.” Lena’s heart calms only a little bit. Despite the differences that they had recently, she still cared about the hero, even if the trust between them was broken. “Something’s happened. I can’t go over all the details on the phone.”

“I’ll come to you then.”

“Thank you, Lena.” She hangs up and enters her bedroom, searching for her purse. She stops in front of the mirror for a moment and wonders if she should change out of the clothes she had worn to the office today. The dark green dress and black stiletto heels certainly feel out of the way for an emergency trip to the DEO but it’s not as though she hasn’t shown up there dressed this way before. Once she locates her purse, she walks back out to the living room, grabbing her phone from the coffee table. She makes two calls. 

The first. “Jess, I’m sorry to be calling you this late.”

“It’s not a problem, Ms. Luthor,” Jess chirps through the phone, already eager to do whatever Lena needed. The girl is truly a godsend. “What can I do for you?”

“I need you to clear the day for me tomorrow.” She wasn’t sure what the situation with Supergirl entailed but she felt the need to make sure that her duties at L-Corp didn’t draw her away from the task.

“Of course, Ms. Luthor.”

“Thank you.” She places the next call to Alex but doesn’t leave a message when the agent doesn’t pick up. She walks over to the kitchen and places her purse on the marble countertop, sliding her phone inside. The purse drops to the tiled floor when she turns to find Supergirl standing a few feet away. The hero has an unfamiliar smile on her lips, the muscles in her biceps somehow look bigger tonight as her arms fold across her chest. She leans against the door frame to Lena’s balcony, perfectly at ease.

“Supergirl,” Lena breaths, confused to see the hero here. Less than five minutes ago, Alex had called asking for help, saying that something had happened to her. But here she was, standing there, holding herself taller. Lena couldn’t quite place her finger on it but something was definitely different about her. Supergirl’s blue eyed gaze was always intense and bold and it was tonight too but in a different way. There was something almost…sensual in it. A heated gaze Lena couldn’t tear her eyes away from.

“ _Lena_.” Hearing Supergirl call her by her first name was odd but Lena doesn’t pay it much mind. Supergirl greets her with a widening grin and a glint in her eyes that Lena’s never seen before. The usual warmth and earnestness on her smile was absent tonight. Tonight it was cunning, knowing, mischievous. Supergirl advances on Lena with deliberate slowness until she’s standing right in front of the shorter woman. She’s so close Lena can feel the heat radiating off her. And the power. 

“What are you doing here?” Lena manages to ask the question, her gaze never dropping from Supergirl’s dark eyes. The hero doesn’t answer, her eyes raking across Lena’s body, from head to toe. She smiles again as if she likes what she sees. Lena likes the way the hero undresses her with her eyes, feeling a heat of desire course through her. “Is there something you need?” Lena asks with a light feeling in her head. She feels drawn to the Kryptonian in front of her, like a moth to a flame. Supergirl bits down on her lower lip, her eyes pinning Lena to the spot.

“I don’t need anything,” she answers, lifting her daring gaze to Lena again. Orbs filed with a dark blue collide with green marbles that are just as intense. “There is something that I want though.” Lena’s breath comes in and out of her lungs in quick pants as she drinks in the meaning behind Supergirl’s words. 

“And what’s that?” she asks as though she doesn’t already know.

Supergirl leans forward and whispers hotly, “I think you know.” Lena’s heart is pounding in her chest so hard, as if it’s trying to break free. For the first time since they’ve met, Supergirl has finally managed to make Lena nervous, slightly intimidated. The hero’s smirk widens as she bends her neck down, stopping so that her lips are just centimetres away from Lena’s. The siren call of Lena’s heart fills Supergirl’s ears, increasing her arousal.

“W-w-what are you doing?” The question stutters out of Lena’s mouth. With Supergirl so close, so powerful, it was becoming harder and harder to think, let alone speak. The hero’s dark gaze is hypnotic, inviting, tempting Lena with the promise of sweet ecstasy. 

“Nothing you don’t want me to do.” She sounds so sure of herself and Lena can’t object. “Just say the words.” Lena wants to, she almost does but she catches the words in her throat. She can’t say it, she shouldn’t say it. Something wasn’t right with Supergirl and more than that Lena was a relationship with someone else. And even more than that, Lena’s heart belonged to someone else entirely. So why couldn’t she bring herself to move away? Why was Supergirl so appealing to her now? Lena always admired the hero, secretly acknowledged her beauty but she never thought she’d want her the way she does right now. There was always someone else who captivated her heart, a certain blonde reporter who made her flush in the face. 

“I can’t.” Lena’s voice is barely a sound but she knows Supergirl can hear her. The hero doesn’t drop her brazen stare, she only jams her front against Lena and smiles, satisfied in the soft moan Lena failed to stifle. 

“I like you in this dress,” she purrs. “Hugging you so tight in all the right places. So say the words, Lena.” Supergirl’s tone is so enticing, nearly irresistible. “You know you want to.” Her hand glides down to Lena’s neck. Fingers like steel curl around her throat but they don’t squeeze. “I know you want to.” Lena realizes that Supergirl won’t do anything, despite how much she seemed to want to, without her permission. That was the only indication of the noble hero Lena has come to know over the last few years. Everything else was foreign, almost as if some other creature was wearing the Kryptonian’s skin. That’s when she notices it, a faint streak of red running across Supergirl’s neck like an electric current. 

“You don’t know me,” Lena says, managing to drop her gaze briefly. “And I don’t know you.” Their relationship didn’t afford them to know anything about each other that one couldn’t find out with fifteen minutes worth of light internet snooping. The fact that Lena was a Luthor and Supergirl wore that S was enough of a reason why a relationship beyond uneasy allies seemed unattainable. 

“I do know you.” Supergirl’s voice is soft and tender, a contrast to the wildfire that blazed in her blue eyes. “And you know me. _Look _at me, Lena.” She complies, locking gazes with Supergirl. “Really look at me.” Lena notes the pleading tone in the hero’s voice and takes a moment to look deeply into those bold, azure eyes. Even though they were intense, even though they were filled with an anger Lena has never seen before, they were also familiar. Why was that? This kind of familiarity came with knowing someone intimately. She didn’t have that kind of relationship with Supergirl, it was strictly business. No, there was only one pair of blue eyes Lena had spent what felt like a lifetime staring into. And now she realized, she was staring into them now as well. They were darker than normal with a hint of mischief, anger and wickedness but they were still her eyes. Kara’s eyes.__

____

Kara is Supergirl. 

____

As the realization dons on her, Lena barely registers her hand travelling down to Kara’s. She traces the shape of Kara’s knuckles and beckons the blonde to tighten her grip. With a soft moan, Kara obliges and curls her fingers more closely. She can feel the veins in Lena’s neck press against her skin. The circulation of blood slowed and lightheadedness soon followed. It was erotic, knowing that this was only a small taste of the power Kara had. Lena was more turned on than she ever was, feeling a desire for the blonde unlike anything she’s ever experienced. She wants Kara to fuck her, right there on the countertop. The blonde seems to sense that as she effortlessly lifts Lena to sit on the marble slab behind them. She inserts herself between Lena’s thighs and dives in for the long awaited kiss.

____

The kicking down of Lena’s front door and the accompanying sounds of jack boots marching across her floor, jerk Kara and Lena out of their moment. Kara’s hand drops from Lena’s neck as she turns and finds him there, standing in front of the door with his shield up.

____

“Get away from her Supergirl!” Even with the voice modulator and helmet, Lena recognizes James’s deep voice. Kara moves and places herself between Lena and James. Her stance is territorial, her eyes wild, her lips turned up into a sinister grin. 

____

“James, you have really shitty timing,” Kara growls as she places a hand down on Lena’s countertop. Lena could tell that the impact didn’t take much effort on Kara’s part but it was enough to leave a spiderweb of cracks under her hand. 

____

“Get away from her,” James repeats, less forcefully this time. Though he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect Lena and help Kara, he’d be lying if he said the way the Kryptonian was looking at him right now didn’t send a shiver down his spine. Kara didn’t just look ready to hurt him, she looked ready to kill him.

____

“Why? Worried she might want me more than she wants you?” Kara chuckles as she whips her head around and winks at Lena. 

____

“You need help, Supergirl. Let me help you.” 

____

“Why don’t I help you out the door?” Without warning, Kara claps her hands together, releasing a sonic wave that flings James against the wall. Lena lets out a tiny scream and covers her ears as all the glass around them shatters, furniture turns over, paper and books fly. Jame’s impact with the wall is so great that he can feel the pain, despite the armour of his suit. As Kara closes the distance with a menacing slowness, James scrambles to his feet. He leans up against the wall for support. 

____

“Oops, my bad,” she says insincerely. “I guess my aim was a bit off.” 

____

“Kara, stop,” James whispers, looking over the blonde’s shoulder for any signs that Lena heard him use that name. “I don’t want to fight you.” 

____

Kara chuckles cruelly. “You say that like it’ll be much of a fight.” James holds his shield up when Kara advances with a powerful blow. The shield can’t absorb the impact as it travels up the length of James’s arm, shattering the bone in its wake. The shield breaks apart instantly as he falls to the floor, writhing in shock more than pain. With no where to go, James backs up against the wall and lifts his fearfully widen eyes to the Kryptonian’s glowing face.

____

She places a red clad boot down on his injured arm carelessly. “Kara!” James wheezes but she only smiles, relishing the fear that emanated from him and filled her ears with every heart beat. 

____

“Stop!” Lena cries out. Kara turns her head and catches Lena taking an unsure step forward. “You’re hurting him.”

____

“That’s the idea.” The cold response sends a shiver down Lena’s spine. It was hard enough believing that Supergirl was capable of this but knowing now that it was also her sweet Kara was just too much. She didn’t know what was going on, what had caused such a drastic change in behaviour but she pushed herself to believe that the Kara she knew was still in there. 

____

“Please,” Lena begs quietly. Kara looks back at her and the hardness dissipates from her face for a brief moment. 

____

“Only because you asked so nicely.” Kara doesn’t take her eyes off Lena as she removes her foot from James’s broken arm. Lena jumps a little when Kara suddenly appears in front of her. Kara reaches out a hand to her, gently brushing her cheek with her knuckles. It was such a stark contrast to the violence she had shown James mere seconds ago.

____

“I know I’ve given you a lot to process,” Kara says softly. “So I’ll give you some time.” She leans forward and places a delicate kiss on Lena’s forehead, aching to go further but she manages to pull herself back before disappearing in the wind. Lena lets out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. It takes her a moment to regain control over her muscles, the feeling of Kara’s touch lingers on her face.

____

“James.” Lena rushes over to him and falls to her knees at his side. Her eyes drift down to the fractured bone sticking out of his arm with a mess of blood dripping from the break. “James,” she repeats but his answer is only a shallow breath. “You’re going to be okay.” Lena turns when her home is swarmed with NCPD officers. Alex is the only federal agent with them, the only officer to lower her gun when she sees her friends. She deposits herself next to Lena on the floor.

____

“Oh my God, James.” Alex looks to Lena who nods at the silent question in her eyes. Alex bits her lower lip and motions over the paramedics to help James. They lift an unconscious James onto the stretcher and wheel him out. Alex helps Lena to her feet, her eyes narrowing in on the five, faint pink marks on Lena’s neck. 

____

“Did she hurt you?” Alex asks softly. 

____

She quickly places a hand over her neck. “No.”

____

“Lena, you can tell me what happened.” 

____

“I…I should ride to the hospital with James,” Lena finds herself saying. She’s not sure why, perhaps because it was protocol for the girlfriend to do so. In all honesty, all she wanted was to be left alone, to pretend that today hadn’t even happened. To forget that her best friend had been lying to her for years. To ignore that all she wanted was to her again and have her look at her ravenously as she did tonight. 

____

“Hold on, Lena,” Alex says, moving to block her path. “We need to talk.”

____

“What is going on?” 

____

“Supergirl’s been…compromised,” Alex begins slowly, struggling to find the words. She’s not sure what had happened here, how much Lena now knew about her sister. When Kara was like this she was erratic and it was that unpredictability that made her so dangerous. 

____

“Compromised?” Lena repeats, impatiently prompting Alex to go on. 

____

“It’s happened before. Before you moved to National City.” The dots connect themselves in Lena’s mind. Kara’s strange new behaviour, her callous attack on James, the red streaks that danced across her neck. It was all making sense now.

____

“Red kryptonite.” 

____

Alex raises an eyebrow. “You know about it?”

____

“Of course. It was on the front page of every major newspaper for weeks.” Lena was still living in Metropolis but she could remember quite vividly watching the video of Kara throwing Cat Grant off of CatCo’s balcony, only to catch the screaming woman at the very last second. It was a terrifying yet purposeful show of power. 

____

“Didn’t the DEO develop an antidote?” Lena asks as she mentally recalls how the last adventure with red kryptonite had ended. 

____

Alex nods. “Yes but it didn’t work. This version is different somehow, more potent. Last time Kara was exposed for days before she did anything this violent.” 

____

“How long has it been this time?”

____

“Our best guess? 24 hours. But we’re still not sure how she even got exposed to it. Or who made it.” Kryptonite in its natural form was a rare find on earth. Most of it was either gathered up by Lex or the DEO. Lena had figured out how to make it, something she only resorted to in order to keep Reign contained whenever she took control of Sam’s body. Now as she lifts her eyes to Alex’s she can’t help wondering if the agent thought that she had something to do with this. 

____

“I know it wasn’t you, Lena,” Alex says before Lena can give voice to anything. “But I need your help to fix this.” The tears rimming Alex’s brown saucers took Lena by surprise. The older Danvers sister was always measured and in control of her emotions, rarely showed any signs of vulnerability. She was much like Lena in that regard, both wearing armours when they go out into the world but for different reasons. However, the reason why they take the armour off is the same. 

____

Kara. 

____

Kara’s warmth and laughter melted away the ice that had built up around Lena’s heart. She made Lena feel safe and at home. Oddly enough, despite the tinge of mania in Kara’s eyes tonight, she still felt like that. 

____

“Hey.” Lena reaches out and takes Alex’s hand. “It’s going to be okay.” 

____

Alex regards her for a moment. “You know, don’t you?” Lena’s response is a simple nod. She was still processing it herself. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this.”

____

“Better now than never I guess.” The words come out more bitterly than Lena intended. “That doesn’t matter right now anyway.”

____

“You’re right.” Alex wipes her eyes with her free hand. “I should get you to a safe house and we’ll start working on a cure tomorrow.” 

____

“That’s not necessary.”

____

“Well you can’t stay here, Lena. It’s a crime scene now and I’d feel a lot better about your safety.” Lena was no stranger to danger, she carried the Luthor name like a bullseye on her back. She may have been confused and nervous tonight but she didn’t feel unsafe. She’s never felt that way with Kara.

____

“You think I need to be protected from her?” Lena’s question hangs in the air for what felt like an eternity. Alex is unsure of how to answer, the events at the DEO not too long ago still fresh in her mind. A mission involving a disturbance at an Nth metal factory had taken a terrifying turn when Supergirl brutally severed the arm of one of the human attackers with her heat vision. Alex didn’t hesitate, she quickly reached for the kryptonite dart she carried around for emergencies. 

____

Forgive me, Kara.

____

The agent transported the unconscious Kryptonian back to the DEO, desperate to free her from the influence of red kryptonite. This was supposed to be over with quickly. The first time was hard because no one knew the signs or that such a thing could even be made. This time was supposed to be better. They knew what they were up against and they had a fix for it. Or so they thought. 

____

Kara merely chuckled when she was shot with the supposed antidote. It’s as though she already knew it wasn’t going to work. The power dampeners and red sun lamps in the holding cell didn’t seem to work either. Kara shattered the impenetrable glass with a simple tap of her finger. She tore through the DEO, moving so quickly that the kryptonite bullets had no chance of hitting her. Agents were flung with so much force against the walls, leaving behind a sticky red trail of blood. Concentrated blasts of solar energy burned agents alive, reducing some to ash. The stench of death and burning flesh filled Alex’s nostrils as Kara continued her assault with unparalleled speed. She didn’t stay long but was still able to inflict devastating damage. She slowed down to hover in front of Alex after purposefully attacking everyone else. A wicked smile played on her lips, a maniac wave of red flashed over her azure eyes. That’s when Alex knew things were going to be different this time. Kara’s behaviour was escalating much more quickly. 

____

“I don’t know what to think,” Alex admits. “All I know is that last time, it took all of J’onn’s power to stop her and she’s gotten so much stronger than that since then.” One of the scariest things about the whole ordeal was the fact that no one truly knew the limits of Kara’s power. The Kryptonian never let herself go, she practiced restraint even when up against powerful enemies. Now that she had let go, there really was no telling what she was capable of doing. 

____

“Okay,” Lena says, noting the slight panic in Alex’s voice. “I have a place I can go to. It’s off the grid and has everything I’ll need. I can text you the coordinates and —.”

____

“No,” Alex interjects, shaking her head vigorously. “Don’t tell me or anyone else where you’re going.” Lena opens her mouth to protest but decides against it, nodding instead. 

____

“Okay. I should see James before I go.”

____

“Of course. And Lena?”

____

“Yes?”

____

“Thank you for still standing by us.” Lena only nods, she can’t form any words because if she’s being honest with herself, something she rarely does, she’s not entirely sure where she stands. If she stands with Alex and the DEO, then that would pit her against Kara and she couldn’t even tolerate the idea of that. But if she stands with Kara, what would that mean for her? Or the rest of the world at that? Would she be able to convince her best friend that she needed help? 

____

Did Kara actually need it at all?

____


	2. Be Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments, kudos and of course just for reading! Enjoy!

Alex shoots up out of bed with cold sweat beading down her forehead. She hasn’t slept well, hasn’t slept at all really. Maggie’s in the kitchen pouring black coffee into her travel mug. She looks up when she notices Alex stirring. 

“Hey. I’m going into work now, I really miss the day shift. Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“Hey. No please. Go.” Alex walks over to Maggie, picks up the NCPD badge and forces herself to smile. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Please be safe, Danvers.” Alex wants to reassure Maggie that she didn’t need to worry, that everything would work itself out but she couldn’t. She couldn’t because she didn’t know what would happen, if she’d ever get Kara back. 

“I will.” 

“I love you.”

Alex finds herself smiling for real this time. It’s hard not to when Maggie says those three magical words. “I love you too.” After Maggie leaves, Alex decides to stop postponing the inevitable and returns Eliza’s call. It’s just after ten o’clock at night. She breathes a sigh of relief when the woman’s voicemail answers.

“Hey Mom. Look, I know you’re worried about Kara but you don’t need to be. We have this handled. Okay? I got to go. Just…let me know if you hear from her.” It’s been three days since Kara had become infected and they were the hardest of Alex’s life. Sure enough they’ve been in tough situations before, had to face enemies with seemingly limitless power but they always had Kara on their side. Now Kara was the threat, one that Alex didn’t know how to beat. 

She didn’t need to see Kara to know that the Kryptonian had been busy, performing her duties as Supergirl in a forceful and violent new way. She didn’t apprehend bad guys anymore, she eliminated them. Swiftly, brutally. Her latest crusade left behind the smouldering remains of gang members near the docks. They were smuggling a new drug made from an alien race capable of producing the addictive main ingredient. They had dozens of the aliens caged, ready to extract the compound and dispose of them when they were no longer fruitful. It was a disgusting display, one that incurred Kara’s undying wrath. Alex couldn’t even watch the video. Seeing her sister do something so horrible without so much as flinching was unnerving. No matter what happened next, the fact remained that Kara was a killer now. 

J’onn was trying his best to keep up with Kara’s activities around the country but she always disappeared. She thought she was faster than him, stronger than him and yesterday she provided herself right. J’onn had finally managed to catch up to her over the desert in Nevada. He tackled her out of the sky, leaving a crater in their wake on the ground. He pleaded with her, tried to reach the human side of her but all he got in return was a severe beat down. Alex could still see it in her mind, the image of J’onn’s green skin melting off from Kara’s heat vision, how Kara’s maniac smile spread across her lips. She enjoyed it, every last second. And then she left him there, burnt and bloodied. So if J’onn couldn’t bring her down, what chance did any of them have if Kara decided to attack? Maybe it was best to stay out of her way, at least until Lena figures out a new antidote. She didn’t have much to work with now that Kara had escaped DEO custody but Lena’s performed miracles with less. 

“What is it, Winn?” Alex answers when her phone rings.

“It’s Kara. She wants you to meet her.” 

* * *

Kara lands softly on the rooftop of CatCo Plaza. She’s not wearing her super suit, no dramatic red cape or school girl skirt, instead opting for the black body suit that her Aunt Astra had given her. The crest of the House of El still proudly donned the left side of her chest. As she takes in the sounds of the city below her, a surge of power courses through her veins, highlighted by a visible red glow. She feels powerful, more so than she ever has now she’s let go of the fear she once held. The insignificant humans and their idle conversations, a plane taking off at the airport, a smoke detector ringing in a house miles out of the city, Kara could hear it all. And then some. 

She felt it the moment the red kryptonite entered her system as she flew through the air. Something had been unlocked inside her, the true power that she held and she found herself smiling, eager to know the limits of her newfound strength. If she even had limits at all. Though she kept herself occupied, doling out justice as she saw fit, toying with the police and their ineffective guns, there was one central thought in her mind. 

_Lena._

__

She searched for her throughout the city but could not find the object of her affections. And it _angered_ her, being denied the one thing she has always wanted. The one thing she was now brave enough to take. Her gaze turns to the door when it finally opens and Alex steps out. The agent seems more confident than she feels as she walks over to Kara, leaving a healthy distance between them. 

“So now you want to talk,” Alex says, folding her arms across her chest. “After days of me calling you.”

“That was on your terms,” Kara replies simply. “Now it’s on mine.”

Alex scoffs. “You mean now you want something.”

“I want a lot of things.” Kara’s maniac smile makes Alex’s defences flare up but she manages not to react. Kara’s gaze turns to steel. “Where is Lena?” 

“I don’t know.” Alex had checked in with Lena but still didn’t know exactly where the Luthor was. She had the foresight to know that this moment would come and she needed to ensure that Lena would be able to work on a cure unencumbered by Kara’s wild actions. The blonde wasn’t having any of it, her deepening scowl showcasing her displeasure at Alex’s reply. 

“You must be _suicidal_ , lying to me like that.” Anticipating Kara’s next move, Alex reaches for her gun but Kara’s quick hand curls around her wrist just as she’s taking it out the holster. Kara pulls her hand up, pouting playfully at the gun. 

“Humans and their guns.” She shakes her head disapprovingly. “Ever think the world would be a better place without them?” Kara’s other hand wraps around the barrel of the gun, crushing it instantly before she flings it off the roof. 

“You’re hurting me, Kara,” Alex says as she tries to yank her hand away. She’s eventually successful, stumbling back when Kara unexpectedly releases her. There’s deep red bruising around her wrist. 

“Don’t worry,” Kara says in such a light tone that for a moment, Alex thinks that maybe her sister was coming back. “I won’t have to break your arm this time if you stay out of my way and answer the question.” Alex’s brown eyes harden, her glare intensifying. She wants to punch Kara in her smug face so badly but she doesn’t. It’ll only cause her pain anyway. She hated when Kara was like this, she didn’t know how to deal with her, what do say to her. How to stop her. 

“Why do you want to know where Lena is?” Alex demands, unsure if she’ll receive an answer. 

Kara’s takes an intimidating step forward. Was Alex really daring to keep her Lena from her? “Don’t make me ask you again.” Alex gasps a little when she spots a red streak pulsing down from Kara’s forehead to her neck. The effects of the red kryptonite were getting stronger and stronger by the minute and Alex feared that it may become permanent. And if it did, she’d lose her sister forever. As that overwhelming fear licks at her heart, Alex lets go of the anger. 

“Kara please.” She’s practically begging now. “Just come with me. Come with me and I can help you. We can fix this.”

“You mean fix me?” Kara throws her head back and laughs but it’s not the cheery sound Alex was used to. It was deeper, maniacal. “I don’t need to be fixed, Alex.”

“You’re killing people, Kara!” It was a terrifying new reality that Alex struggled to accept. Kara was always gentle, always chose the least violent option. She sought to touch hearts with her message of hope, help and compassion for all. She kept her tremendous strength in check, giving careful consideration to every move she made. Not anymore. Kara was unrestrained and flexing her power in a frightening new way and no one on this planet was strong enough to fight her.

“They deserved to die,” Kara says coldly, Alex can feel the chill in her words. 

“You don’t get to decide that.”

“Yes I do.” Kara turns towards the view of the city and smiles haughtily. “I’m the strongest person on this planet. Not even Kal or J’onn can take me down. I’m practically a god and I think it’s time I started acting like one. They already worship me and those who don’t, will.” Kara’s short, narcissistic rant signals to Alex just far gone her sister was. But she doesn’t give up, doesn’t let her doubts and fear take over. The most important job Alex was ever given was to protect Kara. She would continue that no matter what, even when Kara needed protecting from herself.

“This isn’t you!” Alex screams out in frustration, tears streaming down her face. She can’t contain them any more. “None of this is. Can’t you see that something is wrong?” 

“This is me,” Kara insists, red waves clashing with the blue in her eyes. “This has always been me. I’ve just repressed it. I let you and the DEO control me, tell me what to do, how to act. I let every other insignificant being on this planet depend on me, throw their burdens on me. I wasted so much time trying to be human. But now, now I’m free. I don’t have to be Supergirl or Kara Danvers.” 

“Then who will you be?” Alex asks with a fear gripping her heart.

Kara’s wicked smile widens. “ _Kara Zor-El_. Now, you will tell me where Lena is. Whether that’s before or after I’ve broken every bone in your body is entirely up to you.” Kara’s threat isn’t empty, Alex knows that she’ll do it, the same way she knew Kara would’ve killed her the first time this happened if it weren’t for J’onn. Over the years, they had tried to move past it. Alex had tried to move past it but she could never fully shake it. Red kryptonite didn’t create anything new in Kara, it brought out what was already there. There was still much about the blonde that Alex will never know or understand. Unlike Kal, Kara’s life didn’t start on earth, it started on Krypton and ended in a tragic planetary explosion. Kara never talked about that trauma, all she did was try her best to fit in and be human. Now that part of her was slipping away, leaving behind only the alien that Alex never truly knew. And that alien didn’t care about her or anyone else.

Kara’s about to close the distance but halts in her tracks when her pocket vibrates. She pulls out her phone and smiles before turning to Alex. “I guess I don’t need your help after all.” Kara takes off into the sky and within seconds she’s out of sight. Alex drops to her knees, hugging herself close, trying to stop her body from shaking. 

* * *

It’s been a while since she’s been here. The Luthors had no shortage of properties scattered around the globe, from luxurious villas and beach houses to bunkers and spacious hillside mansions. Lena had options but she chose this one, a smart home built into the mountain range just 150 miles outside of National City. It was undetectable, untraceable. Even a Kryptonian’s keen eyes wouldn’t be able to see it. Lex’s paranoia may have ruined him in the end but it had given Lena the idea for a place like this.

She had arrived three days ago after visiting James in the hospital. It was an awkward visit, the guilt eating Lena alive because she didn’t feel any anger towards Kara for hurting him. The only thing she felt was an overwhelming desire to see the blonde, to feel her power and be consumed wholly by it. She tried her best to shove those feelings down as she went over the information that the DEO had provided her with. The entire concept of red kryptonite fascinated her. But she needed more data to really understand how it worked, how it’s properties affected Kryptonian’s mentally while normal kryptonite affected them physically. Would the standard green rock affect Kara now that she was on the synthetic red or would they cancel each other out? Who would even have the knowledge and resources to make it in the first place? With Lex in prison, Lena was the only person who qualified. 

She slams her laptop shut and hauls her white lab coat off. She’s frustrated, so unaccustomed to not having the answers that she wants. She walks out of the lab and enters the main area of the smart home. Without thinking about it, she picks up the remote and turns the television on, something she hasn’t done since she’s been here. Aside from her daily check-ins with James, Lena had pretty much remained detached from the outside world. She feels conflicted. Part of her wanted to know what was going on and another part didn’t. Today, if she happened to look up from cup of tea she was making, then so be it. 

Her eyes glue to the television screen the moment she sees her. It’s not the first time she’s watched the news coverage about Supergirl. The hero dominated the headlines, even more so in recent days. Her activities were becoming more violent and dangerous. The news was now about warning the public about her rather than praising her. The current news cycle was focused on a horrific attack on several gang members that left a charred mess of bodies. It’s been so much for Lena to process in so little time. Supergirl hurting James, exercising her power without restraint and killing without a second thought. Supergirl being Kara. Pain shot through Lena, right above her eyes. A migraine was coming. She pulls out the drawer next to her and fishes out her pain meds. Normally, she’d ride out the pain but not today. She didn’t have the strength for it. 

She picks her phone up, answering on the first ring. “Winn? Did something happen to James?”

“No, no he’s fine. I just….” 

“What?” Lena says when Winn trails off. The suspense, given the current climate, was gutting her like a knife. 

“Alex is meeting with Kara.” Winn’s voice is so low, Lena nearly missed it. The worry in it seeps into her instantly. She wanted to believe that Kara wouldn’t hurt Alex but she did hurt James the other night, she killed all those gangsters down at the docks. Lena didn’t know what Kara would or wouldn’t do anymore. 

“When?” 

“Right now. I thought you should know.”

“Thanks.” Lena places her phone down on its face and backs away from the counter. She doesn’t want the tea anymore, her stomach suddenly had no room for it. Why did Kara want to see Alex after ignoring her for several days? Then she thought about Kara had said to her the last she saw her.

 _I’ll give you some time._

Her eyes widen as she realizes her time is up. Kara wanted to know where she was and Lena wanted her to come find her. The potential dangers didn’t matter. The way she felt the other night stayed with her, that burning desire Kara had ignited in her with her brazen sexuality. She wanted more of that from the Kryptonian. She needed it. She walks back over to the counter and sends off a text.

**[Lena Luthor 10:33pm]: Follow these coordinates.**

****

Kara doesn’t respond, she doesn’t need to, Lena knows she has the Kryptonian’s attention. She places her phone back down and stares out the ceiling-to-floor windows. She could see out but anyone looking in would only see a mountain. In a matter of seconds Kara’s there, hovering just on the other side of that glass. She comes even closer and places her hand over the impenetrable window. Lena walks over and places her hand on the other side. It’s crazy to her how she can feel Kara’s heat and power, as if the blonde was standing right next to her, touching her. Kara’s ravenous eyes rake over Lena’s body and a wicked smile spreads across her lips. Lena gasps, realizing that Kara can indeed see her, even though she shouldn’t be able to. As she wonders why, she misses the cracks forming on the glass from the light pressure in Kara’s hand. In the blonde’s eyes there’s a silent question.

****

_Are you going to let me in?_

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Lena knows she shouldn’t. “Hope. Open the window and disable the interior defence protocol.”

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“Yes, Ms. Luthor,” the A.I responses and the glass in front of Lena lowers immediately. Kara smirks and lands gracefully on the hardwood floor next to Lena. 

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“Hi Lena,” Kara says casually, as if this was just another ordinary day with her best friend.

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“Hi.” She doesn’t say anything else but doesn’t break eye contact with Kara. Having the blonde so close again was already effecting her ability to speak once more.

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Kara gives her an amused grin as she takes a moment to look around. “I have to say, this place is truly incredible. Not that I should expect anything less from Lena Luthor.” Lena can’t stop the blush kissing her cheeks red from the praise. It wasn’t uncommon for her to receive applause for her work but it was rarely given genuinely or openly. Not the way Kara does it.

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“Camouflaged, lined with lead, soundproof walls. I’m not sure I would’ve ever been able to find it.” Kara’s eyes narrow in on Lena’s. They’re the same as they were the other night in Lena’s penthouse, lustful and dark with a tinge of red clashing with the blue. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re hiding from me.” Kara’s tone is playful but Lena can tell that the blonde is slightly annoyed. 

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Lena doesn’t skip a beat. “I’m not. My house is currently a crime scene and I really needed some time away to…process…everything.” Kara can hear the honesty in her words and her heart beat. A part of her was concerned that she couldn’t find Lena because Lena didn’t want to be found, because she simply didn’t want to see or talk to her again. She didn’t think she could handle it if Lena had decided to shut her out.

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“And have you proceeded?” There’s something else shining in Kara’s eyes now, a hopefulness that was characteristic of the hero Lena knew. 

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“I don’t know,” Lena admits as she looks away for a moment. There was nothing Lena hated more than lies. Dishonesty was a hallmark of her family, their weapon of choice to manipulate others for their own selfish gains. Lena has been a victim many times over. Kara knew this and still lied anyway. “It’s a lot to take in.”

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“I know and I understand if you’re angry with me but —.”

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“I’m not angry,” Lena says, cutting her off harshly. “I’m disappointed and I’m hurt. I mean, what the hell Kara? I trusted you with everything and I thought you trusted me.” Lena’s fists tremble at her sides. Perhaps she’s a bit angrier than she wanted to believe. Kara closes the distance and places her hands over Lena’s to stop them from shaking. 

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“It’s not about trust,” she murmurs. “It’s never been about that.”

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“Then _what?_ ” Lena demands, pulling her hands away. The unexpected increase in volume of her voice startles Kara. Her entire body shakes with a heartbreak she’s only now feeling. It’s as though the true gravity of Kara’s secret was weighing on her for the first time. “What Kara? What excuse could you possibly have for lying to me for so long? After everything we’ve been through!” Tears rim Lena’s eyes but they don’t spill over. Kara feels an inward rage as she stares at the only person she’s ever truly loved. 

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“I didn’t want to risk losing you,” Kara answers softly, a deep sincerity in her eyes that touches Lena’s soul. “I knew I would if I told you the truth.” She lifts a hand to Lena’s face, stroking her cheek with her knuckles much like she had the last time. “It was selfish, I know that. But please, you have to understand. I _cannot_ lose you, Lena. I hate that I hurt you but I promise, I will never lie to you again.” The honesty was clear in her voice and her dark eyes, leaving no room for Lena to even doubt her. The lack of inhibitions may have brought out a dangerously dark side of Kara but it also brought about a version of her that was completely open. She wasn’t tethered to anything, wasn’t fearful of anything. Lena feels the need to be honest and fearless too.

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“I can’t lose you either,” Lena whispers, locking eyes with Kara. “You mean the world to me, Kara. You always have.” The Kryptonian’s focus is unwavering as she meets Lena’s gaze head on. They just stay there, their personal spaces merging into one. Lena wonders if it’s possible to have everything she’s ever wanted with Kara now. Should she even be thinking about that when Kara’s like this? Is this the version of her love Lena wanted? 

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Lena breaks the silence when she asks, “Why did you come to me after you escaped the DEO? Why tell me the truth now?”

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Kara smiles as she leans in, her lips an inch away from Lena’s ear. “You’re the only one who knows what it’s like to fight the darkness inside you everyday, to fight against every dark impulse and desire. How _exhausting_ it all is. How _good_ it feels to finally let go. To take what you want when you want it.” Lena couldn’t deny it. She was all too acquainted with the underlying and tempting desires within her. The dark impulses that had pushed her to try to kill Morgan Edge, the insatiable drive to prove she was the best at any cost. She spent most of her time pushing those feelings down, fighting to be good, to be different from her family. But Kara standing in front her as darkness personified was all too tempting to resist. Deep down, she always wanted the blonde, from the moment she first saw her but she never said anything, too afraid of tainting sweet Kara with her darkness. But she didn’t have to be afraid anymore, she could be free, she could embrace the darkness instead of clinging to the light. 

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Lena turns her head slightly so that her lips graze against Kara’s ear lobe. “What do you want?” 

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Kara pulls away and places her hands on Lena’s hips, jamming her against the glass. Her gaze is predatory, her smile playfully wicked. Lena’s heart skips faster. “I want you to be _mine_.” Kara’s surprisingly husky voice draws Lena in. There’s a possessiveness in her words but Lena doesn’t care. She knows what she wants too. “What do you want?”

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Lena’s response is immediate. “I want to be yours.” She acts before Kara can, crashing her lips against Kara’s with a heated passion from the slow burning flame inside her heart. Kara’s hands pull her away from the glass and roughly glide down to the back of her thighs. Her grip is tight, unyielding. Lena locks her arms around Kara’s neck as the kiss deepens passionately. Their movements are uncoordinated, both equally impatient. Kara growls softly as she lifts Lena off the floor and bulldozes her way to the bedroom. The sounds of items and door frames breaking feels like a distant noise as Lena’s senses become dominated by Kara. 

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Kara falls onto the bed with Lena quivering under her in burning anticipation. She tugs lightly on Lena’s blouse, ripping the buttons off. This was an exhilarating change of pace for Lena. She likes to be in control of every aspect of her life. Relinquishing control was always hard for her but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy it. Most of her lovers had disappointed, either too intimidated or too nervous to fully ravage Lena the way she truly desired. Until now. Kara’s intense gaze never drops. The Kryptonian is focused as she unzips her black bodysuit with a painful slowness and a teasing smile. Lena gasps at the reveal of sun kissed skin. She’s never seen this much of Kara, never thought she ever would. She reaches up and starts tracing the shape of Kara’s chiseled abs, feeling the heat that radiates from her. The raw power. It’s breathtaking.

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“You’re so beautiful,” Kara whispers to her as she glides her hands down to Lena’s dress pants, ripping them off without warning. The thoughtless destruction of designer clothes was never more intoxicating. One hand shifts down Lena’s pink lace panties. “And so wet for me.” A soft moan escapes Lena’s swollen lips as Kara slides two fingers into her wet space. She touches Lena’s soft spot on the first thrust, causing the typically measured woman to lose all composure. 

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“You like that?” Kara smirks, breaking eye contact to lower herself so that she’s kneeling right between Lena’s legs. She looks up at Lena, never losing focus as she pulls her fingers out. Lena’s low whine of protest is met with a cunning chuckle. Kara presses her tongue to Lena’s clit. A feeling of euphoria shoots through her entire body as if Kara was touching every inch of her all at once. Kara’s skillful tongue licks Lena’s pussy clean. The CEO arches off the bed, desperate to come but Kara’s gaze warns her not to. Not until she’s allowed. Kara’s arms stretch forward and her hands drag across Lena’s taut body. Lena’s words had given her all the permission she’s ever needed. She can finally take what she wanted, what had always belonged to her. Kara’s fingers slide back into Lena, eliciting another unholy moan from the unbridled woman. Lena’s pulsing pussy clenches hard against Kara as the blonde slips in a third finger. A slow exhale escapes Lena as her pussy is stretched, her soft spot hammered.

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“You’re so tight.” Kara’s fingers curl inside her, working their dark magic with unrelenting thrusts. Her thumb presses against Lena’s clit, sending Lena over the edge. Even after that exhaustive orgasm, with Kara still inside her, Lena manages another one. And another one. Kara’s a generous lover, running on an insane amount of stamina. And Lena’s greedy, taking everything Kara has to give even if her body aches. 

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Way out here, out of the purview of the world, Lena was free to submit herself to the dark allure of the woman fucking her senseless. The tiny voice that governed her, that kept her on a path to goodness was gone, obliterated by Kara’s intoxicating power. Lena’s own madness. Perhaps it was their mutual depravity buried deep inside that drew them to each other from the moment Kara set foot into her office. Maybe she just loved Kara too much.

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One final thrust, painfully exquisite, brings Lena to another climax. She’s almost too exhausted to move, feeling sore in places she didn’t know she had. Kara licks her fingers, savouring the taste of Lena once more. She climbs back on the bed, lies next to Lena and pulls the woman closer to her. 

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“You’re mine,” Kara rasps, her words an affirmation of something that was always meant to be. Lena tastes herself on Kara’s tongue when she kisses her. 

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“I’m yours,” she murmurs before drifting off to sleep, wrapped in the strong arms of the most dangerous person in the world.

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	3. By My Side Forever

Lena stirs out of her slumber when Kara’s warm hand brushes gently across her face. Her eyes open slowly and meet the Kryptonian’s hard gaze. Lena notes the near-constant rage that took up permanent residence in Kara’s azure eyes. She misses the warmth and kindness they once had, the compassion and sympathy but could not deny the fact that the wild anger and lust was even more appealing. After last night, after Kara had expertly fucked her, Lena has never been more in love. But she wonders if Kara feels the same. Could Kara even feel love anymore? 

“Good morning, Ms. Luthor,” Kara says, smiling in a way that was reminiscent of the blonde Lena knew. It was actually refreshing to see. Lena props herself up, wincing a bit at a soreness in her abdomen and thighs, not unlike the day after intense exercise.

“You’re still here.” Though Lena had fallen asleep with Kara lying next to her, she didn’t expect to find her in the same spot, comfortably nude. 

“Where else would I be?” 

“I don’t know. I just…I wasn’t sure if you’d stay.” 

“Well I did leave briefly.” Kara turns around to grab a pink box that Lena recognizes instantly. “I got those pastries you like from that little bakery in Paris.” The fact that Kara would still do something so thoughtful and sweet makes Lena think that perhaps the Kryptonian wasn’t as detached from her emotions as she previously thought. 

“You didn’t have to go all the way to Paris for breakfast.”

“I know but I wanted to. I’m…trying to make up for everything. I want…I want to earn your trust back.” The sadness in her voice catches Lena off guard. 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to make up for anything. I already forgave you.” Kara’s face lights up, her body relaxes, her blue eyes brighten. It’s almost as if the red kryptonite is gone.

“You have?”

“Of course. But I will be eating those pastries.” Kara laughs and the familiar sound brings a smile to Lena’s lips as she opens the box and takes out the first thing she touches. 

“Your phone’s been buzzing all morning,” Kara says when Lena’s cell vibrates again. Lena grabs the phone off the nightstand and looks at the notifications. There’s twenty of them, some from Jess and Alex but mostly from James. Lena’s heart clenches in her chest. She had gotten so caught up with Kara over the last ten hours that she didn’t even think about James. By now, she would’ve already called him and checked up on his progress. She should call him right now but she doesn’t. The guilt she felt intensified by the fact that she relished every orgasm, screamed out Kara’s name. She feels guilty over the ill-concealed truth that every minute she was with James was another minute she’d rather be with Kara. 

“Anything good?” Kara asks but Lena can hear the underlining question.

“James left me a few messages,” Lena says, looking up from her phone in time to see Kara’s gaze harden. “Don’t tell me you’re the jealous type.”

Kara leans in, just a touch away from Lena. “I’m not, I just don’t like sharing what’s mine.”

“Is that why you hurt him?” 

“He pissed me off,” Kara answers bluntly. “I was trying to have a moment with you and he ruined it.” She cups Lena’s face gently, capturing her in a powerful dark gaze. “You have no idea how much watching you with him drove me crazy.” 

“It wasn’t exactly fun watching you with Mon-El,” Lena quips, remembering briefly how she merely tolerated the arrogant prince’s relationship with her Kara.

Kara chuckles. “Now who’s jealous?”

“Whatever.” She can’t fight the smile, she never could when it came to Kara. “In any case, I do owe James an explanation.”

“You don’t owe him anything,” Kara asserts. Red lines pop up against her skin teasingly as they disappear, only to reappear in another spot. It was travelling further, showing up in the blonde’s face, neck and upper body. “You were never his to begin with. I wanted you first.” Kara’s gaze turns lustful, her words dripping with possessiveness. Lena’s skin prickles with desire in response. She loves it.

“How long have you felt this way?”

“Always.” Lena loves how open and honest Kara is now. She loves it so much that it was easy to overlook everything else that came with this new version of her best friend. She should be angry with Kara for hurting James, afraid of her even but she wasn’t. Not even a little. The only thing she could bring herself to care about was Kara and because she cared so much a part of her wondered just how much the synthetic kryptonite had affected the blonde’s mind. Would those effects be deadly? Permanent? 

“What are you thinking about?” Kara asks, breaking Lena out of her thoughts. The CEO takes pause, wondering if she should voice the concerns she’s feeling. 

“You,” Lena answers with deliberate vagueness. Kara’s keen senses pick up on the telling signs of anxiety and worry. 

“You’re worried about the red kryptonite.”

Lena nods. “I am.”

“Don’t be.” Kara drops her hand, rolls off the bed and stretches in all her naked glory. The sunlight filtering into the room makes her tanned skin and golden hair glow. She looks like a god of light. The only thing betraying that is the ever present darkness that tainted nearly everything she did. 

“I can’t help it.” Lena drops her half eaten pastry back into the box and dusts her fingers off.

“Does this scare you?” Kara’s eyes narrow, a crease forming between her brows. 

Lena doesn’t hesitate. “No. I just…I need to know that you’re not hurting.” Red kryptonite may not cause the writhing pain its parent compound did but Lena couldn’t help wondering if it caused damage in other ways. She didn’t want to think of Kara being in any sort of pain, not if she could help her. 

“I’m not. I promise you.”

“Do you plan on staying like this?” Lena asks in a tiny voice. She knows it’s a question Kara doesn’t want to hear, she feels it in the way the blonde’s body tenses and her eyes turn to steel. Within a nanosecond she appears right next to Lena.

“Why wouldn’t I?” A maniac grin spreads across her glowing face. “My mind has finally been liberated from the shackles of humanity. I couldn’t really see it before. I was forced to believe that the world was good, that humans were good but none of that has ever been true. This world is flawed, filled with greedy and wicked beings. Governments and monarchs that are so corrupt, that don’t give a damn about the people they’re supposed to be serving. It could be so much better. The world needs a firm hand to guide it. Who better to fulfil that need than me?” 

Lena doesn’t need to ponder on Kara’s words for long to know what the blonde was implying. “Kara, what you’re talking about is a dictatorship.” 

“Call it what you want but it’s what I’m meant to do. People already look to me to save them. Not their governments, not the police. I’m powerful on this planet, blessed with the power of the sun. This planet _chose_ me to rule.” Kara places the box of pastries aside and lifts Lena to her, holding the shorter woman closely. “I’m going to take over,” she says with an air of finality. “With you by my side forever.” Lena knew that she should protest, that she should run away from the dark and beautiful creature that had captivated her heart. But she couldn’t, she had no desire to do so. She found it so appealing, the knowledge that Kara could do anything, have anyone but she had chosen her. Kara’s vision for the future included no one else but her. No one else mattered. 

Still, she felt the need to ask, “What if I don’t want that?” 

“Of course you do,” Kara purrs in Lena’s ear. “That heart of yours, it’s so telling with every beat. Don’t deny it, the idea of world domination appeals to you, Ms. Luthor. You’ve always cared about others, wanted the world to be a better place. We can do that now. Together, we can do anything.” Kara smiles when Lena’s heart beats even faster. She knew she was right and so did Lena. The world was so conflicted and divided. Nations against other nations, humans against aliens. Every news story was about the latest gruesome crime or terrorist bombing. Lena wanted it to stop, wanting the hate to cease and she had the means to do it now with the power of a god by her side. 

“How would we do it?” Lena whispers, biting her lip when Kara’s teeth nips at her earlobe teasingly. Even if the idea didn’t appeal to her, Lena wasn’t sure she’d be able to resist with Kara standing so close, planting hard kisses along her neck. It was as if the blonde had cast a spell that expunged all reasoning from Lena. In all honesty, the only thing Kara did was allow Lena to embrace the dark side of herself too. 

_They could descend into the chaos together._

“I have a few ideas.” Kara pulls away to look at her. “But first, I need something from you.” 

“Anything.”

“I need a suit, one that’ll make me immune to kryptonite. I can’t have that annoying inconvenience getting in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish.” _No_. Lena should say _no_. There was still a chance to stop her, to bring her back to herself. There was still a chance to stop all this madness. 

“I actually have something I’ve been working on.”

Kara raises an eyebrow in surprise. “Is that so?”

“Yes. After you got so upset with me for making kryptonite, I figured that maybe I could change your mind if you had a way to protect yourself from it.” 

“I shouldn’t have gotten upset. It was unfair of me to expect you to understand why I took it so personally.” Kara’s jaw clenches tightly at the memory and she finally drops her gaze. Lena locks her hands behind Kara’s neck, grabbing at the hair on her nape.

“It’s okay. I get it now.” Lena’s voice coaxes Kara’s gaze to fall on her again. The Kryptonian marvels at the brilliant woman in front of her, she really couldn’t ask for a more worthy mate. 

“Where is it?” Kara asks.

“At L-Corp. It’s still a prototype but I could probably finish it in another day or two.”

“I’ll go get it.” Kara starts to move away but Lena manages to grab at her the wrist, halting her.

“You can’t. It’s in a vault made of Nth metal in a secret sub-level that can only be accessed by me through a biometric lock.” Kara chuckles softly, it was so Lena to have her precious projects well under lock and key. “I’ll get it and it’s probably best if I go alone.” Kara was wanted by nearly every law enforcement agency in America, including the DEO. They would try to apprehend her at any moment they got. That would just piss Kara off and result in unnecessary casualties. Despite being willing to stand by Kara, Lena wasn’t quite prepared for needless violence. She wasn’t sure if she could trust that the blonde wouldn’t go berserk if provoked by the authorities. It’s best not to leave it all up to chance.

“Fine,” Kara says with a childish pout. “But I’ll be close by.” 

“Will you do something for me?” Lena asks tentatively, unsure if she’ll get a positive response. Kara motions for her to go on. “Will you let me run some tests on you?” Lena couldn’t shove her concerns aside. Or her curiosity. Red kryptonite fascinated her inquisitive mind, how it seemed to be even stronger than the original green in some ways. 

“You can do whatever you want with me.” Lena finds herself smiling, blood kissing her cheeks red. Kara pulls her close and presses a kiss to Lena’s forehead. “Now eat up. We’ve got places to be.”

* * *

Lying in bed, all day every day, is a foreign concept to James Olsen. He was always active, always on the move. It was one of the great things about being a photographer, being in the field, going to different places and meeting diverse groups of people. It was that mobility James craved each day he lied in this hospital bed. And while Guardian was down, Supergirl had been busy dispensing justice any way she saw fit. 

She was taking the law into her own hands, acting as judge, jury and executioner with chilling ferocity. It was difficult to believe that the Kara Danvers he knew was capable of committing these vicious attacks all with a sadistic smile on her face. 

Kara enjoyed it. 

No one knew where she was now since she left her meeting with Alex so abruptly. No one knew where Lena was either. 

He remembered how Kara was standing between Lena’s legs when he busted through the doors, how Lena looked aroused rather than scared. Even when she had visited him, she was reluctant to speak ill of her best friend. To say anything at all. On some level, James always knew that Lena didn’t care about anyone the way she does Kara. He knew that Kara had a special place in the Luthor’s heart that he could never occupy. Her relationship with him was a glorified consolation prize, a substitute for what she thought she couldn’t have. 

He looks at his phone again, opening the unread messages he sent to Lena.

**[James Olsen 10:59pm] Alex told me that Kara’s looking for you. Please lay low.**

**[James Olsen 11:32pm] I haven’t heard from you and no one’s seen Kara. Did she find you? Please Lena, let me know if you’re okay. I love you.**

**[James Olsen 11:43pm] I’m getting really worried now Lena. Just call me. Please.**

**[James Olsen 5:38am] You missed our daily check-in. Will you please call me?**

**[James Olsen 10:13am] You’re with her, aren’t you?**

The longer Lena takes to break radio silence the more powerful James’s doubts become. And his anger. He was always envious of the power Clark and Kara held, how effortlessly they wielded it. It hardly seemed fair. Even with Winn’s technology and years of martial arts training, James could barely hold his own with human gangbangers. Even the newly surfacing Children of Liberty proved to be a challenge. And while an uncontrollable Kryptonian roamed the skies, terrorizing National City, Guardian lied in a hospital bed. His arm still has a numbing pain as the severed nerves and fractured bones begin to heal. He had been in life and death situations before, had sixteen scars from the torture Lex Luthor had put him through, but he never feared for his life the way he had with Kara. The way the blonde inspired hope, she could equally inspire fear. 

“What are you doing?” Winn demands as he walks into the room and catches James rolling out of bed. “The doctors haven’t cleared you yet!” 

“Kara’s still out there and I haven’t heard from Lena. I need to get back on the streets Winn.” 

“And do what?” 

“I don’t know but I can’t just lie here doing nothing.”

“It’s not going to do any of us any good if you go out there and get yourself killed!” Winn exclaims unexpectedly. He’s still haunted by Kara’s assault on the DEO. He hid under his desk the entire time but the screams, the sounds of bones snapping, the smell of burning flesh were enough to give him nightmares. 

“What about Lena?” James can’t shake his worry even though something inside of him knew that Kara wouldn’t hurt Lena. Back at Lena’s penthouse, it wasn’t an attack James had busted in on. It was a moment of intimacy, one that they were equally invested in. 

“I’m sure Lena’s fine.” Winn scratches the back of his head, a telling sign of his nervousness. James’s suspicions flare up. 

“What do you know?”

“Nothing,” he says quickly, too quickly to be convincing. He caves under the weight of James’s glare. “God! Fine. Okay, I may have told Lena that Alex was meeting with Kara.” 

“You think Lena texted Kara.” 

Winn nods. “I can’t be sure. Lena’s texts and calls are so well encrypted. I’d be impressed if it weren’t so frustrating.”

“I think you might be right.” 

“Maybe Lena can talk some sense into her.”

“Not likely,” James scoffs. “Lena won’t go against Kara.” His words are bitter, notably laced with anger. He’s jealous, he always was. Even though he was the boyfriend, he always took a backseat to Kara. Lena only talked about Kara, only got excited about Kara. She only loved Kara.

“Where are you going?” Winn calls after James as the taller man walks out of the door. He doesn’t answer as he continues to march out of the hospital. He lifts his long arm into the air and hails a taxi. 

The driver turns his head and asks, “Where to chief?” 

“Stryker’s Island.”

* * *

It’s only been a few days since Lena’s been outside of National City but it feels like a lifetime. The past ten hours felt surreal given everything that had unfolded. Lena had given into her desires and allowed herself to be claimed by the maniac version of her once sweet best friend. She had managed to convince Kara to let her drive back to the city, desperate to avoid flying. It was her least favourite mode of transportation, one that she used only when no other option was available. 

She pulls the car into the underground parking lot at L-Corp and turns the engine off. She knew that Kara would be nearby soon if she wasn’t already. The Rolls Royce Lena was in had been purposefully chosen. The car was Lex’s and had been designed to block any outgoing sounds. This would be her only chance. She pulls out her phone, thumb hovering over his name, before she finally takes the plunge.

“James,” she says, grateful that he didn’t answer. “I wanted to let you know that I’m okay and I hope that you’re okay too. And I’m…I’m sorry.” Did it even make sense to apologize for something she enjoyed and had no regrets about? No, it didn’t. She ends the call and opens up her other messages.

**[Alex Danvers 11:05pm] Lena, Kara is looking for you. I think she might know where you are.**

**[Alex Danvers 11:07pm] Just tell me where you are and I’ll come to you.**

**[Alex Danvers 1:04am] Is Kara with you?**

**[Alex Danvers 6:43am] At least let me know that you’re okay.**

**[Lena Luthor 11:17am] I’m okay. Don’t worry.**

She shuts off her phone and pulls the sun visor down, opening its mirror. Angry red marks line the length of her slender neck. Slowly, she applies a matte red colour to her lips, locking eyes with herself in the mirror. A soft tap against the window startles her. 

“Ms. Luthor, I didn’t know that you were coming in today,” Jess says as soon as Lena rolls the glass down. Jess had marched over to chastise whoever was parked in her boss’s spot, not expecting to see Lena there.

“I’m not. I’m only here to get something.”

“Oh…is there anything I can help with?”

“No. Thank you.” Lena returns Jess’s smile before the girl turns and walks away. Lena looks at her reflection one last time before she exits the car and enters the building. Her body navigates itself automatically, her mind preoccupied with the duelling thoughts. She knew she should call Alex, that she should supply her with the kryptonite she still had in her vault. She knew she shouldn’t finish her prototype suit, that once Kara was immune to kryptonite she’d be unstoppable. She was conflicted. Being away from Kara made it easier for the light inside of Lena to burn a little brighter. She was thinking more clearly and a tiny voice at the back of her mind was screaming that this was wrong. But the sound of her heart singing a song for Kara was louder. It quickly drowns out everything else. 

A loud boom turns Lena’s gaze away from the elevator doors. A few dozen heavily armed men parade into her building through the unnecessary entrance the explosion had made. Sporting paramilitary uniforms and gold plated masks that had become as infamous as Guy Fox, the intruders quickly surround Lena, blocking any path to an escape.

One of the men steps forward. “Hello, Ms. Luthor.” His uniform is distinctly different from the others, his mask looks like it’s made from a sturdier material as well. Lena marks him as the leader. 

“Who the hell are you and what do you want?” She demands angrily, forgetting that she’s terribly outnumbered and outgunned. 

“We’re the Children of Liberty,” he starts, taking a step closer to Lena. “And we want to kill a Kryptonian.”


	4. A Cold Calmness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *minor character death  
> *scenes of violence

There’s a reason why Winn hated field work. It was dangerous, physically taxing and required skills that no number of training sessions with Alex could ever give him. The ingenious gadgets that he made were badass in other peoples hands, not so much in his. Sitting in his favourite chair with a Nerf gun swirling around in his hand was as close to the action as he wanted to get. He was the tech support, the voice in people’s ears telling them where to go and what to do. He was responsible for keeping them safe. 

Despite everything had had transpired, Winn still felt that need, that drive to protect the people he cared about with the power of knowledge. That’s why he’s here, standing in the last place he ever thought he’d be. His father’s old workshop, a place that once filled his childhood with happy memories was now a bevy of unpleasant reminders. He didn’t want to be here but he could think of no other place on such short notice. The excuse that he fumbled out as he left the DEO was weak but Alex was the only around who took notice. Luckily for Winn, she too distracted arguing with Colonel Haley to pay him any mind as he slipped out. 

Winn takes his phone out to look at the time, his anxiety reaching a critical peak as time crawls by. He starts to wonder if this was a mistake, what would happen if the DEO found out about this? Was this illegal? Could it result in imprisonment or would they exile him off to Serbia? Winn was so deeply consumed by irrational thoughts that he didn’t even notice he was no longer alone. A girlish scream escapes from him when he spots her. 

“Oh,” Winn says, clearing his throat. “Kara. Hi. I um…I wasn’t sure if you’d come.”

“I wasn’t planning on it but I’ve got some time to kill,” she says while taking note of how nervous and fearful he seemed. It was rather curious to her that he would be the one to call her, using a signal watch of all things. Didn’t they know she was no longer Supergirl? She cocks her head to one side, her blue eyed gaze hardening as Winn remains silent. 

“What the _fuck_ do you _want_ , Winn?” He jumps a little at the sound of her voice, so uncharacteristically harsh and angry. It was strange not hearing the kindness and compassion he had grown so accustomed to. 

“Right. Sorry. Look, Kara, I just want you to know that no matter what happens next, you’re always going to be my friend.” Kara’s expression doesn’t change, there’s no indication that she’s registered a single word. He goes on anyway. “I won’t presume to know what you’re feeling because I don’t. There’s so much about you that I’ll never be able to understand or relate to. But there is one thing that I know about you, one thing that I know will never change.” He pauses when he notices Kara’s cold eyes focus in on him. He has her attention, some of it at least. “You want the world to be a better place, to protect the innocent and bring the bad guys to justice.” 

Kara takes a step closer. “What’s your point?”

“I need to tell you something and I’m only telling you this because despite what you’ve done you don’t deserve this. The DEO just got issued an executive order from the President. They’re working with the Army to take you down by any means necessary.” 

Kara’s not phased or surprised. In fact, she’s amused. “You mean kill me.”

Winn nods dumbly. “Yea.”

“They’re welcome to try.”

“Kara, they have all of the DEO’s kryptonite and every other weapon that can hurt you,” Winn whispers loudly with a trace of hysteria. 

“Kryptonite won’t be a problem for much longer.” Kara seems confident, almost as if she thinks it’s an eventuality. And maybe it is. He didn’t have to hear from Lena to know that Kara had gone to her after leaving Alex. It’s what he had hoped for when he called Lena. He had hoped that Kara would go to her and that she’d be able to fix her, bring her back to herself. But if Lena was helping her, the situation was even more fucked. 

“Lena’s helping you.”

Kara’s lips turn up into a maniac smile. Red lines popped up against her skin, spreading across her face like cracks on a sidewalk. The red clashes with the blue, creating a dark, almost purplish hue in her eyes. 

“Of course she is. We’re going to change the world.” The thought of a Luthor and a Super working together had never been more terrifying.

“What does that mean?” Winn asks quietly. He already knows the answer, Kara knows that too. She turns her head slightly to right when she picks up on a police officer’s dispatch. She had been tuning those out, like most other sounds, but the mention of L-Corp caught her ear. 

“Lena,” Kara breathes before she disappears, leaving Winn to face a difficult choice. Does he stand with the DEO, with the people who want to kill his dear friend or does he stand with the hellish version of his favourite superhero? There was no right answer, no mathematical formula to apply. So maybe fate should decide. He pulls out a quarter from his pocket and flips it. With an awkward attempt, he actually manages to catch it, covering it with his other hand. He closes his eyes for a moment before he removes his hand and stares down at the coin. His breath hitches in his chest but he commits himself to the choice.

He answers his phone. “James?”

“We need to talk.”

* * *

It’s not the first time a bunch of idiots broke into L-Corp. No matter how top notch the security, they always managed to find a way inside. So even with all the MK-47s pointing at her, even with the relatively large group of men surrounding her, Lena’s not afraid. She’s _pissed_.

“What does killing a Kryptonian have to do with me?” She asks the ring leader of this radical group. The Children of Liberty had been making head ways in the local news, taking to the streets of National City to spread their hate speech. Fear was a natural response to things one didn’t understand and fear of this nature always bred hate. 

“We know you have kryptonite,” the leader answers. Lena’s scowl deepens. How the fuck did they know that? “And other weapons that can kill Supergirl.” Her instinct to protect Kara kicks into overdrive and it takes all of her self control not to punch him. That would be reckless and stupid and ultimately unsatisfying. He needed to feel unbearable pain, the kind that would make him wish for the sweet release of death.

“You’re never getting your hands on it.”

“I think we are.” He turns his head slightly and motions over two of his men. They’re holding someone, a petite woman who’s screaming, kicking at the air as her feet lifts off the ground. Lena’s stomach drops when the woman comes into view. 

“Jess,” she breathes silently.

“You’re going to give us that kryptonite and everything else that we want. If you don’t.” The man pauses as he takes his gun out and shoots Jess in the chest without hesitation. Lena doesn’t scream, it’s as though she’s lost her voice. The man holding Jess throws her lifeless body to the ground, as if she was nothing more than a piece of trash. “We will just keep killing your employees until you do.” Jess didn’t deserve that, the girl was kind and thoughtful and always at the ready for her boss. She was almost through grad school, she was engaged to a wonderful young man. She was ready to live her life. These Children of Liberty, Lena had dismissed them as just another fringe group but they were so much more dangerous than that. They didn’t have any honour, any codes. They couldn’t be reasoned with. They needed to go.

“ **Where is it?** ” The leader barks out his question but Lena meets his stoney glare head on. And then she smiles, an idea for revenge popping into her mind. 

“Down here.” She leads the way into the elevator, accompanied by the leader and six of the other men. He gives orders for the remaining others to lockdown the building. Lena steps out of the elevator as soon as the doors open and walks quickly towards the entrance of her private labs. No one else was allowed down here. She enters the pin and unlocks the doors. The leader shoves her out of the way and looks around, eyes wide in awe. 

“Get it,” he says roughly as he points a thirty-eight at her. “And don’t do anything stupid.” Lena rolls her green eyes and scoffs. She’s not intimidated but she thinks about her employees and relents. 

“It’s in here.” She walks over to her vault and places a hand over the biometric lock. It was Lex’s design, his deranged family values making it responsive only to Luthor DNA. Hers and his. The vault doors release and slowly open up. The leader marvels at all the wonders inside like a child in a toy factory. It was inside this vault Lena had first encountered kryptonite, instantly fascinated by its foreign properties. Unlike her brother, Lena didn’t want to use it to hurt anyone, she wanted to use it for good. But when Reign and Sam’s connection became apparent, she had no choice but to use kryptonite the way Lex had intended. When it ran out, she was forced to figure out how to make it and it cost her a friendship with Supergirl she didn’t realize she wanted. The challenge Supergirl had given her, the challenge to prove herself better than her family, meant more to her than she cared to admit. 

She should’ve gotten rid of the remaining kryptonite after Reign had been vanquished but she didn’t. What if other Worldkillers were out there? Other rogue Kryptonians? What if a day came when the world would need to protect itself from Supergirl and Superman? So she kept it. Her hand hovers over the lead lined case that housed the green rock but she doesn’t open it. Instead her hand extends further and she grabs the arm of her mother’s Lexosuit. She whips around and fires, point blank, at the man across from her. The blast sends him flying out of the vault, landing roughly against a wall. 

“You fucking bitch!” He yells as another man helps him up to his feet. “Kill her!” Lena slaps the red button inside the vault, causing the doors to close again. She stands in front of the security pad and turns the cameras on. The Children of Liberty are wasting their ammunition, firing at a door that wasn’t going to break. She’s about to turn on Lex’s weapons when a gust of wind rips through the room. The next few seconds are hard to track. What could only be described as a black blur travels through the lab with a fierce speed. The men turn their guns to it instantly in an attempt to bring it down but it’s too fast. And then it stops. Kara grabs the man closest to her, shattering his arm in several places like a twig. She tosses him aside like a drag doll before lunging for the next one, cracking his skull under her boot. Her fingers wrap firmly around the barrel of a gun which she swings like a bat against another man’s head. His cranium caves in under the immense force, blood and brains spill out as his body collapses. And she continues moving, taking them out one by one with her limitless strength and undying wrath. 

The leader picks himself up off the ground, his body still aching from the blast Lena had given him. Petrified, he simply watches as his comrades meet their end brutally. A sharp pain shots down his spine when Kara slams him against the door of the vault with unnecessary force. 

“Who sent you?” She asks, her calm voice a contrast to the boiling rage in her eyes. “Answer me.” Her eyes glow angrily, a terrifying sight that makes him tremble like a leaf. He’s so close to shitting himself. 

“Agent Liberty,” he answers quickly, barely able to speak with Kara’s hand around his neck in a vice-grip. “It was Agent Liberty! Please, I’ll do whatever you want just don’t kill me.” Kara chuckles, finding it rather interesting that he would be begging for his life now when he seemed so confident mere seconds ago. When Kara had arrived and saw the scene upstairs, Jess’s body on the ground with a bullet lodged in her sternum, fear mixed with anger overtook her. She unleashed her wrath on them, burning those fuckers alive with a powerful blast of her heat vision. She punched one so hard in the chest his heart exploded on impact, blood gushed out of his eyes and mouth like a waterfall. 

“Who is he?” Kara demands in a low voice layered with a warning not to lie. 

“I don’t know, no one does.” 

“Then what use are you to me?” The bones in his neck snap under the pressure of Kara’s hand and she casts his body aside. She turns her attention to the vault doors, trying to see in but she can’t. So she presses her forehead to the door and murmurs softly, “Lena. It’s me.” She can hear the CEO’s rapid heart beat but no movement. “Lena.” She listens carefully, wondering what was going through Lena’s mind. Her lips purse to speak again but the doors open. She steps inside and finds Lena standing near a stainless steel table. 

“Lena.” Kara walks over to her, stopping on the other side of the table. Lena doesn’t say anything, doesn’t lift her eyes off the black box in front of her. She had just watched Kara _murder_ several men, witnessed just how much this former hero had morphed into a deadly force of justice. It needed to end, Lena _needed_ to end it. The knit reappears in Kara’s brow as she examines Lena for any sign of injury. 

“Did they hurt you?” Her voice is so small, her blue eyes the lightest they’ve been in days as they widen in concern. When Lena finally lifts her gaze, she doesn’t see Kara Zor-El or Supergirl. She sees Kara Danvers, she sees the genuine love and protectiveness that the reporter has always shown her. And her heart swells, chorusing its song of love. 

“No, I’m fine.” Lena takes a short pause before asking, “Are they dead?” 

“Yes.” Kara waits for Lena’s reaction with bated breath. She knows better than most just how much the CEO loathed violence, especially the kind that resulted in death. For the first time since her exposure to red kryptonite, Kara feels unsure, nervous. She never had doubts about Lena’s loyalty, not since the shorter woman promised to be hers, but she wonders if there’s a limit to what Lena will tolerate. Had she gone too far?

But Lena’s not scared, she’s not angry, Kara hadn’t done anything that she wasn’t prepared to do either. She thinks about Kara snapping the neck of the man who coldly shot Jess and she finds herself smiling as she closes the distance, holding her hands out for her love.

“Good.” She leans against Kara, melting into her as the blonde’s strong arms hold her close. It should be disturbing to find comfort in the arms of cold-blooded killer. It should be repulsive to even be in the same room as her. But all Lena feels now is a cold calmness, something she’s felt before but for once, she’s not afraid of what it may mean about the person she is. 

“Why did they attack you?” Kara asks softly.

“They wanted kryptonite.”

“You still have it.” Kara’s hold around Lena stiffens. “Why?”

“I thought I might need it,” Lena replies honestly as she pulls away and turns to pick up the box. She presents it to Kara. “But I don’t. I trust you. Completely.” Kara places her hand over Lena’s and smiles. 

“I trust you too. Let’s take it with us.” 

Lena raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Grab whatever else you need and I’ll get you out of here.” Lena nods and gathers up the box, the spring-loaded cube containing the prototype suit and disc containing another project she’s been working on. She places them in her handbag while Kara walks back out of the vault, listening closely. She can hear the rapid stomp of military boots, the loading of guns. She instantly picks out Alex’s voice. 

“The DEO is here,” Kara tells Lena as she pokes her head through the door frame. 

“I’m ready.” Kara picks Lena up bridal style before she speeds out of the lab and up to the main floor. The DEO’s agents are already swarming around like bees. Kara lifts off into the sky followed by a rain of bullets, holding Lena tightly to steady her from the sharp upright turn. Her efforts to make Lena comfortable don’t really help. Lena shuts her eyes, listening to the wind rip around them. She shivers when the cool breeze nips at her bare arms where Kara’s warmth doesn’t reach. Her eyes don’t open until she feels Kara stop and she regrets it instantly. Kara’s floating mid-air just over National City’s downtown. It’s a view that Lena’s seen before, either from a helicopter or in Supergirl’s arms but she never enjoyed it. Being in the air, so high up from the comfort and control the ground offered, it didn’t matter that she was in the arms of the woman she loved. She still hated it.

“Lena,” Kara whispers. “Open your eyes.” 

“I-I-I can’t,” she stammers. It was so unlike the carefully measured way she normally speaks. 

“Yes you can.” Kara bends her neck down, her lips brushing against Lena’s face. “You can do anything. You have nothing to fear when you’re with me.” Kara meant those words. Many nights she flew by Lena’s office when the CEO worked late, watching her from a distance. Lena had the love and protection of the most powerful woman in the world without fully knowing what that meant. Even now, it didn’t matter how much Kara had strayed from the person she once was, she would always keep the promise she made her. 

_I will always protect you_. 

Lena remembers the promise too so she opens her eyes and takes in the cityscape beneath her but she’s no longer afraid to fall. She didn’t need to feel control, Kara’s strong arms around her is all she needed. So she places her hands around Kara’s neck and kisses her deeply, urgently. Kara’s lips mould into Lena’s, as if they were made for her and only her. The noise of the city below them fades as all Kara feels is Lena’s soft lips, all she smells is the vanilla scent of Lena’s skin and all she hears is Lena’s quick heart beat. 

“This city is going to be ours,” Kara says with a maniacal grin pressed against Lena’s lips. “And with it, the rest of the world.” Lena pulls back and looks up at Kara, catching the angry red cracks travel across her face and neck. The Kryptonian’s eyes are as dark as her words but Lena finds herself smiling back. Kara hugs her closely before she starts flying again. Lena keeps her eyes open this time, watching as their surroundings blur around them. 

Before long, they arrive at Lena’s secret smart home, greeted by Hope. Kara places Lena on her feet gently, keeping her hands on Lena’s hips to steady her. The younger Luthor leans against Kara comfortably. There was really no other place she’d rather be. 

“You all right?” Kara asks, her lips hovering near Lena’s ear. 

“Yes.” She turns around and touches Kara’s biceps. That’s when she notices something warm and wet. “Kara, you’re bleeding.” The blonde looks down at her arm. She hadn’t even felt it, the kryptonite bullet that managed to pierce her skin. Normally having kryptonite inside her like this would have her on her knees, barely able to think under the pain. But she barely registers it, only feeling a slight discomfort now that Lena’s brought attention to it. 

“We need to get the kryptonite out. Come with me.” Lena guides Kara to her lab and sits the blonde down on a stool. With expert precision, Lena pulls the bullet out and covers it with a lead-lined container. Kara’s wound closes so quickly Lena nearly misses it.

“Thanks,” Kara says, looking down at her arm. There’s no indicative scarring, no sign at all that it had ever been injured.

“Didn’t you feel it?” Lena asks. She remembers how Kara had described the sensation of kryptonite, akin to nails running through the blood or skin being seared off the bone. But Kara barely acknowledged it, flew all the way here with it inside her. What did all this mean? The scientist in Lena was dying to find out. 

“Not really. I do feel kind of tired though.” Lena nods and leads Kara out of the lab and into the bedroom. The blonde changes into shorts and a T-shirt before throwing herself onto the bed. Combating the effects of the kryptonite had been more taxing than she realized. 

“Get some rest, love,” Lena says, brushing a hand against Kara’s face. She turns to walk away but Kara darts forward, catching her at the wrist. Her grip is as tight and firm as steel handcuffs. 

“Please don’t leave me,” Kara mutters and Lena can sense that she’s not just talking about this moment. So she strips down to her underwear and crawls onto the bed next to her. She strokes Kara’s arm and stares into her azure eyes. Despite the cold darkness, she still feels the same way she did the first time she saw them.

“I will never leave you, Kara. I’m yours, remember? Now and forever.” Lena wraps her arms around Kara and pulls her close. Kara rests her head against Lena’s chest and sighs deeply. 

“I love you, Lena,” Kara says softly as she drifts off to sleep. Lena’s heart skips, her breath hitches in her chest, her skin prickles with happiness and desire. A moment like this is what Lena craved every time she was with Kara. The blonde’s compassion, warmth and decency had drawn Lena in from the cold loneliness where she once resided. But that’s not what captivated her now. It was the tinge of mania in her eyes, the sinister smile she wore, the way she relished the chaos she rained down like fire and brimstone. It was this dangerous beauty who had overridden everything that was noble about her. It was in the darkness Lena had spent her life running away from that she had found the love she always wanted. But should she want it? Shouldn’t she fight to restore this fallen hero? 

Why would she, when this was the only version of Kara who would ever be honest with her? Who would always love her and accept her? Who would welcome her own depravity and madness?

“I love you, Kara.” Lena shuts her eyes and feels herself falling too.


	5. An Addictive Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last update until the New Year.   
> Happy Holidays everyone!

God and country. That’s what Alex swore her loyalty to when she signed on with the DEO. And this vow had now put her between a rock and hard place. The hard place being her indestructible sister who had succumb to the dark powers of a red rock and become someone unrecognizable. She knew that Kara saw her as she flew out of L-Corp with Lena Luthor in her arms. She knew that Kara didn’t care about her anymore, certainly not enough to even give her the time of day. Alex had been worried about the pair since Kara’s absence from the public eye and Lena’s radio silence. Had Kara hurt Lena? The way the blonde held the brunette against her chest as she flew away made Alex realize that worrying about Lena, though warranted, was unneeded. She only hoped that things would remain that way. Lena was the only hope they had of bringing the Kara they loved back. Alex wasn’t sure if she could trust that anymore. 

But they were running out of options. Kara couldn’t be reasoned with, couldn’t be contained. The President had issued his executive order to detain the rogue Kryptonian by any means necessary, bringing in a commanding officer to oversee the operations of the DEO to eliminate any personal conflicts. Alex never had issues with superior officers before but Colonel Haley’s by-the-book rigour annoyed the agent to no end. 

“You wanted to see me, Colonel?” Alex says as she enters the conference room. Haley doesn’t turn around to acknowledge her, only gesturing for Alex to take a seat. Alex pulls out the chair closest to her and waits for Haley to speak. 

“We have new orders from POTUS,” she says with her back still turned. Her hands are clasped behind her, her head turned slightly. “We are to uncover Supergirl’s identity.” 

Alex leans forward. “What?” 

Haley finally turns and meets the agent’s shock with a hard stare. “You heard me, Director. Now, I know that you and Supergirl have a special relationship.” She takes a few strides so that she’s just two seats over from Alex. “So tell me who she is when she’s not flying around terrorizing National City.” Alex’s first instinct is to panic at this latest development but her RTI training kicks in immediately and she manages to remain neutral. 

“Supergirl and I have worked together over the years but that never afforded me any sort of knowledge about her, least of all who she really is.” 

Haley places her hands on the table and leans forward with a small smile on her lips. “I know you’re bullshitting me, Director. That flagrant disrespect may have worked before with J’onn J’onzz but I promise you, it won’t with me.” 

“What do you think knowing her identity is going to do for you anyway?” Alex demands, her glare raising defiantly to Haley’s stoic expression. 

“Well Director, believe it or not, I heard what you said about attacking Supergirl head on. You’re right, that will likely result in mass casualties and now that she’s kidnapped Lena Luthor, we need a contingency plan.” Alex smiles a little at the mention of kidnapping. Supergirl wasn’t some savage captor, Lena was with her willingly and if they found out who she really was, they’d realize that too. Kara’s journal probably contained intimate details about her friendship with Lena Luthor, and every other person in her life. And that would land them all in deep shit. 

“So what? You think you can control her if you threaten her?” 

“Threats are how a lot of things get done,” Haley tells her, as if she’s speaking to a child.

“That’s not going to work. You’re only going to provoke her.” 

“People have a right to know who she really is and the kind of danger they may be in,” Haley says, staring boldly into Alex’s burning brown eyes. “So, I’m only going to ask you once more, Director. Who is Supergirl?” Even if she wanted to, Alex wasn’t sure she could answer that question anymore. Kara was someone else entirely now. 

“I don’t know,” she answers somewhat honestly. 

Haley smiles again. “Very well. I have other ways of finding out. Dismissed.” Alex rises to her feet and returns Haley’s salut reluctantly. 

* * *

He never thought he’d be here. He thought that the trial was the last time he’d have to stare him down. But here he was, sitting on the cold stainless steel bench in the visiting area of a maximum security prison. James lifts his eyes when the cell door opens and the bald headed boogie man from his dreams steps forward. He’s chained, at the wrist, ankles and waist. Prison hasn’t been kind to him. He looks paler, more grey hairs lining his poorly kept beard. It was strange seeing him look so dishevelled. 

“Jimmy Olsen visiting me,” Lex says with an amused glint in his eyes as the guards shove him into the opposing seat roughly. “I guess hell must’ve finally frozen over.” 

“It’s James.” 

“No, it’s Jimmy. You’re dating my sister after all. We’re practically family.” Lex’s quick eyes catch the slight tension in James’s jaw at the mentioning of his baby sister and a mocking smile spreads across his face. “Oh no. Is there trouble in paradise?” 

“I’m not here to discuss my relationship with Lena with you,” James states angrily. Lex’s derisive chuckle only adds more fuel to that fire. 

“What relationship? You were never worthy of her, Jimmy.” 

“You know what? Forget this.” James slams his uninjured hand down on the table and moves to get up but Lex’s next words make him sit back down.

“But you came all this way for answers about red kryptonite. You might as well stay.” James fixes his glare on Lex’s emotionless eyes.

“So you know about it.”

“Of course. Even prison has basic cable these days.”

“Did you do this?”

Lex feigns shock at the question. “Why, Jimmy. How could you even ask that? I’ve been in prison for the last _four years!_ ” James doesn’t jump at Lex’s rapid increase in volume. The madman may have frightened him before but he wasn’t a scared kid with a camera anymore. 

“Just answer the question.”

Lex leans forward and says with a quiet anger, “What the _fuck_ would I have to gain from creating a monster with the power of a god?” 

“You tell me.”

“Supergirl’s… _transformation_ is exactly what I was trying to protect mankind from. But then you _locked_ me in a _cell!_ ” 

“You turned the sun red!” James yells back angrily. “You killed innocent people!” 

“Do you know what happens when you allow one rat to live?” Lex asks calmly, lifting his brown orbs to James. “Before you know it, your entire house is infested with the vermin. That’s exactly what our government has allowed to happen with this so-called alien amnesty. And now, one of those rats is one day away from destroying us all.”

“You don’t know Supergirl like I do.” In all honesty, James didn’t know her anymore either. The Kara he had moved to National City to be near as a favour to Clark, the Kara he had watched grow into a fine hero. The Kara he had loved was gone, her beautiful soul expunged only to be replaced by some hellish creature. 

“I know more than you think,” Lex says with a provocative wink. “But you didn’t come here just to accuse me of causing this. So why don’t you ask what you really want to know.” James hated how transparent he must seem for Lex Luthor of all people to pick him apart so easily. 

“How do I bring her down?” he asks hesitantly. He hated having to resort to this but what other choice did he have? With Lena standing by Kara and Alex losing control over the DEO, he needed another option. 

A crazed look washes over Lex’s face and James already regrets his question. 

* * *

“Please.” The man begs for his life desperately, using every ounce of strength he has left to pull himself away. He doesn’t feel the pain of a shattered leg, the cold draft of wind brushing against the gaping wound in his head. He’s too focused on the door, on the potential escape. His heart pounds loudly in his ears but it can’t drown out the bloodcurdling screams. 

She descended on them a few minutes earlier. This beautiful angel of death struck them down with a powerful clap of her hands and knocked the wind out of him as she carried out her assault. It didn’t matter that they had her outnumbered, twenty to one, she was stronger than all of them combined. They didn’t even come close. She burned their guns, chuckled maniacally as she advanced, cracking skulls against the pavement with brutal force. Blood splattered against her face when she crushed a man’s head between her steel hands like a watermelon. She watched in utter joy and fascination as the skull exploded under the pressure, scattering brain matter everywhere. 

One by one she took them out with a vengeance, moving so quickly they barely had time to register what was going on. They were the lucky ones. Those that had time felt an overwhelming hopelessness, practically seeing the aura of death that collected around this savage blonde monster. 

“Where is Agent Liberty?” Kara asks calmly amidst the carnage she just caused. The man stops moving as Kara’s foot turns him onto his back. He doesn’t answer, he can’t answer. Ben Lockwood was immaculate, keeping his double life as Agent Liberty so separate that there could be no connection to draw. But that didn’t matter. This deranged sun god was hellbent on finding him and as the frightened man’s eyes lifted to meet hers, he knew his life was over. Was it worth it, dying for this ill conceived cause? Was it worth it to die for a man he barely knew and a fight he never should’ve joined? 

“I don’t know. I swear. Please, I have a family,” he cries, tears streaming down the face of this grown ass man. “Please, Supergirl. I don’t want to die! Please.” Kara feels nothing as she places her boot over his throat. These idiots were standing tall just before she arrived, shooting aliens they abducted off the street execution style, for the crime of being born on another planet. There was only one thought in the wild Kryptonian’s mind.

 _They deserve to die_. 

Kara’s weight shifts down on her foot, crushing the man’s neck instantly. Blood quickly pooled from his lifeless body as Kara walked away. The surviving aliens thanked her, the ones old enough to fight pledging their alliance to her cause. Crimson waves clash with the cerulean in her eyes as she shakes a young alien’s hand. 

The acquisition of her army was just beginning.

* * *

Lena wakes up, instantly noticing the absence of Kara’s warmth next to her. All she finds in her place is a short note written on heavy card stock.

> _I’ll be back later. There’s breakfast from Benedicto’s in the kitchen._

Where had Kara gone? Lena didn’t have a clue but didn’t dwell on it for long. Her entire body aches as she moves off of the bed, recounting dreamily the passionate night she had spent with her little god. Kara was insatiable as she fucked Lena for hours on the silk sheets of the California king bed, it’s headboard cracked and splintered by the blonde’s unconfined strength.

It was breathtaking, the way Kara manhandled Lena into position, the way the blonde sank to her knees and slid her tongue into Lena’s wet cave. Kara lifted Lena’s pale thighs over her shoulder and sucked teasingly at the CEO’s throbbing clit. Unholy moans escaped from her lips and she found herself begging desperately. 

_Fuck me Kara._

The blonde smiled with a deep satisfaction against Lena’s pussy as her tongue travelled further inside. She swirled it around, licking at the slick dripping from Lena’s pulsating walls. Lena’s hand reached down, her nails scraping at Kara’s scalp as she aches beautifully off the large bed. Her eyes rolled back as she came and a feeling of euphoria hit her like a tidal wave. And in her greed, she begged for more.

_I want to feel you inside me._

Kara climbed on top of her and crashed her lips into her fiercely. Their tongues rubbed together, dancing around like snakes and Lena tasted herself. She bit down on Kara’s lower lip and tugged. The Kryptonian growled in arousal and slipped two fingers into Lena’s sensitive sex forcefully. Lena’s lips parted as she exhaled slowly, relishing every purposefully placed thrust of Kara’s hand, her hips moving in sync. To draw Lena closer, Kara’s lips travelled up the length of the CEO’s neck to her ear. 

_You’re so wet for me, Lena._

Kara slides a third finger in, stretching Lena’s fuck hole deliciously. Her middle finger collided with Lena’s soft spot, her thumb rubbed over Lena’s swollen clit. 

_Fuck._

Lena gripped at the silk sheets, crying out in sweet ecstasy when her pussy expanded further to accommodate Kara’s fourth finger. Knuckle deep inside of Lena, Kara curled her fingers to hear her scream out more. 

_Say my name._

And she does.

Lena spends the day in her lab, dividing her time between Kara’s new suit and the samples Kara had let her take the day before. She thought about the implications making this suit for Kara would bring, the devastating consequences that could follow. But then, she thought about what Winn had shared with Kara, about the US military declaring war against the love of her life. How could she not do everything in her power to protect Kara even if that meant endangering everyone else? 

She turns her attention back to her samples. Red kryptonite was truly a curious thing. From what Lena could tell, this version of the red rock was more potent than the last because it was affecting Kara’s brain chemistry and structure on a large scale. Kryptonian physiology, though similar to plants, still shared commonalities with humans as well. 

“Ms. Luthor, I have the results of Kara Zor-El’s brain scans,” Hope announces. “Would you like me to display them?” 

“Yes, Hope. Go on.” The large monitor on Lena’s lab station lights up immediately as Hope sends the images over.

“The images indicate a reduced synaptic connection between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.” Lena finds this troubling. The relationship between these two areas of the brain was vital for normal functioning. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for many emotions including empathy and guilt while the amygdala is the centre for fear and anxiety. The severed connection in Kara’s brain explained much about the blonde’s new behaviour, how she seemed reckless and detached and how she carried out brutal murders without a shred of guilt. 

But that’s not how Kara was with her. When Kara and Lena were alone, away from the noise of the outside world, the blonde was gentle and attentive, fulfilling each and every one of Lena’s dark fantasies. The only thing signalling to Lena that Kara was different was the constant rage in her eyes and the unchecked power she exuded. The exhilarating danger that breathed new life into Lena.

Worry lines etch into her forehead as she wonders if eventually the red kryptonite would destroy Kara’s ability to love and with that, all traces of the person she knew. Did she really want to wait to find out? She runs another spectral analysis of her sample as she continues staring at the brain scans on her monitor. 

“Hello beautiful,” Kara whispers hotly in Lena’s ear as her hands clamp down on Lena’s hips tightly. She spins the startled woman around and smiles with a deranged glint in her dark blue eyes. It would be frightening if it weren’t so damn intoxicating. 

“You’re back,” Lena says softly, unable to look away from Kara’s maniac gaze. “I didn’t even hear you leave.” 

“I wanted to let you sleep. I did wear you out last night.” Lena’s nipples harden in response to Kara pressing against her front teasingly. 

“Where did you go?” Lena asks as she notices a collection of tiny red spatters on top of the House of El crest. 

“Where I was needed,” Kara replies cryptically with a devilish grin that sends a shiver down Lena’s spine. Her touch on the brunette’s face is soft. “What’d you get up to today?” Lena takes a moment before she answers.

“Just putting the finishing touches on your suit.” She decides against telling Kara about the brain scans, sensing that the blonde was still in a heated rage brought on by wherever she was and whatever she did. She needed to catch her at a better time when Kara was relatively calm and would listen. So instead, she says, “Hope, display Kara Zor-El’s anti-kryptonite suit.” 

“Yes Ms. Luthor.” The suit materializes in front of them, birthed from a swarm of nanites. Kara pulls away and stares in fascination at the suit. Lena had changed the initial design slightly, opting for a sleek black look rather than the original red and blue colour scheme. 

“What do you think?” Lena asks Kara. “I thought that using nanotechnology would help with any sort of damage you take during a fight. The nanites will repair the damage while maintaining their ability to shield you from any kryptonite.” The blonde paces around the suit, taking in the features. The gritty design and black cape was certainly a departure from the Girl Scout skirt that had become a trademark. The symbol of the House of El shimmered as the smooth silver accents in the matte black reflected the overhead lights.

“This is so much better than anything I could’ve possibly imagined,” Kara says, lifting her gaze away from the suit and towards Lena again. “You truly are the best of your race. These foolish humans never appreciated your genius. And now.” Her gaze falls to the suit once more as a surge of power flows through her with every pulsing reveal of red in her veins. “It will be their undoing.” A chill falls in the air at Kara’s words and Lena finds courage to seek out an answer she wasn’t sure she wanted. 

“Kara, what exactly does that mean?” 

“It means that humans are going to know your name, know your brilliance. They’re going to fall on their knees for you on the cold ground until their caps bleed. They’re going to know just how inconsequential they all are.” Lena wanted to feel anger at the way Kara spoke of humans now, the nonchalant way she referred to them as if they were nothing more than the dirt under her boots. Lena didn’t share her contempt, even when the world gave her the cold shoulder just for being a Luthor.

“You speak of humans so harshly now. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m human too.” Kara zooms over to Lena and pins the shorter woman between her lab station and a body as hard as marble. She looks up to meet Kara’s predatory gaze. 

“No Lena.” Her voice is husky with desire. “What you are, is _mine_.” Kara’s hands press down on the lab station forcefully. “And only mine.” The metal groans as the blonde’s fingers press into it, making small dents on either side. A part of Lena wants to protest, wants to run away from the dangerous alien holding her heart captive but she didn’t and the reason why was simple. 

She wanted to belong to Kara. 

“That places you above every being on this planet,” Kara says, holding Lena hostage in her overwhelming presence. “Humans and aliens alike.” She leans in even closer, her lips grazing against Lena’s throat. “But you know that already. You’ve always known that you’re better than them. It’s what you’ve strived for everyday. And when they doubt you, try to denounce you as a villain because of your family, it angers you. Doesn’t it, Lena?” One of Kara’s hands slide down the dip between Lena’s breasts and she effortlessly releases the clasp at the front of her bra. Lena’s arousal peaks as she anticipates the blonde’s next move. Right on cue, Kara tears the rest of Lena’s bra off, leaving her partially covered by her now buttonless blouse. Kara’s warm hand cups Lena’s tender breast, making the brunette moan in response. 

“Yes.” She can’t deny it, can’t feign indifference. Kara’s touch was like a truth serum and under its spell she let go of whatever goodwill she had left. A playful smile appears on the blonde’s face as her lips part over Lena’s erect nipple. She suckles, softly at first, her tongue swirling around the sensitive pink flesh. Then she catches it between her teeth and looks up when Lena’s moan increases. 

“You want them to fall on their knees for you,” Kara breathes into Lena’s breast before she pulls away slightly. Without warning, she props Lena onto her lab station and steps back to undress. Lena watches with a burning gaze as Kara’s bodysuit falls to her ankles and all she’s left with is a pair of grey boy shorts. 

“Yes,” she says, unashamed as she spreads her legs and calls Kara to her with a beckoning finger. Kara eagerly complies, pulls Lena’s skirt up and thrusts three fingers into her pussy. She’s soaking wet already, making it easy for Girl of Steel to reach just where she needed. Kara’s hungry lips assault Lena’s exposed neck with hard, suckling kisses, branding her fiercely. Lena’s hips moves in time with the rough motion of Kara’s hand. She pulls the blonde flush against her, wrapping her legs around her waist. Her nails drag along the length of Kara’s back as she cries out. Kara’s titillating fingers flexed outward inside of Lena, forcing her pussy to stretch, filling the air with obscene wet sounds. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Lena breathes with her head tilting back as she’s hit with a powerful orgasm. Small vibrations travel across her neck as Kara chuckles. 

“You look even more beautiful when you come,” Kara says before she plants another kiss against Lena’s overstimulated skin. Lena grabs Kara’s chin and holds her in place for her lips. Lena’s tongue slips into Kara’s mouth as the kiss deepens. Her nails press harder against indestructible skin. She’s forgotten about Kara’s new disdain for humanity, the speckles of blood on her suit, the worrisome brain scans. All she can think about now is the love she felt for the blonde and how she never wanted to let her go. 

Kara breaks out of the kiss, allowing Lena to catch her breath. “I don’t have need of anyone else or anything else. _You_ are all I need.” 

Lena hugs Kara close, a smile born of an addictive love spreading across her face. As Lena rests her head contentedly against Kara’s shoulder, she doesn’t see the glow of red in the veins of the blonde’s arms as her hold around the CEO tightens possessively. Lena can feel the silent words in Kara’s grasp.

 _You’re mine_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara’s suit is inspired by the design and technology used in Black Panther’s MCU suit


	6. The Fear Of God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions run high in National City and among the super friends as Kara moves forward with her plans to take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kicking off the New Year with an update! Please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6: The Fear Of God

The news cycle runs on a constant loop but Alex remains hunched over, her arms resting on her thighs as she intensely stares at the screen. She’s taking in every story, every image. It’s the only way she can get close to Kara now. She doesn’t look up when she spots a coffee mug in her periphery, only reaching out a hand to the side to take it. 

J’onn sinks into the spot next to her, exhaling slowly as he brings the cup of cocoa to his lips. “Crime is almost nonexistent in National City now.” 

Alex frowns. “Wish that was the result of something positive.” Low crime rates would thrill any decent person but the streets aren’t peaceful. People are as divided as they ever were with aliens and alien sympathizers against the xenophobes and Children of Liberty. All while a deadly being with the power of gods flies overhead, doling out justice and leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. She doesn’t hesitate, she doesn’t question, she only seeks to erase what she thought was an intolerable stain on her perfect picture of the world. Criminals who once lived brazenly now cower in the shadows, fearful of her twisted version of justice. 

Immediately following a buzz, Alex picks her phone off the coffee table, frowning again when it’s only an app notification on her screen. Over the past week Alex was trying her best to check-in with Lena. The CEO’s responses were always brief and seldom but sought to reassure Alex that everything would be all right. Even through text messages, she could tell that Lena was holding something back, something that troubled her deeply. She opens up the last unread message she sent to Lena, hoping to see any indication that the younger Luthor was typing.

**[Alex Danvers 11:34am] It’s okay if you’re not okay Lena. Please, you don’t have to tell me where you are or what you’re doing but I want you to know that I’m here for you. If you ever need to talk, call me.**

“We’ll get through this,” J’onn says softly, his eyes still focused on the footage of Kara dropping the getaway van of a group of bank robbers from several hundred feet in the air. They all died on impact. 

Alex reaches over and places a hand on J’onn’s tightly clenched fist. “I know. It’s just…hard without Kara. Even Lena.” As much as she resisted admitting it in the past, Alex knew that their team and even the world would have been screwed many times over without the assistance of Lena Luthor. A woman who had every reason to despise the world for the cold shoulder she received just for being a Luthor. But even as the world treated her like a leper, Lena still chose to do good. Alex could only hope now that Lena would continue on that path. 

J’onn and Alex’s eyes flash up to the door at the law enforcement style bang. She opens it to find James and Winn standing in the hallway. They step into Alex’s bachelor apartment slowly, anxiety flowing from them in waves. James takes his position in front of the kitchen island with Winn perching himself on the arm chest of the couch. J’onn shoots Alex a confused look, motioning at the two mutes.

“What’s up guys?” Alex asks, folding her arms across her chest. She raises her eyebrow expectantly as the silence between Winn and James continues to solidify. “Do you guys have something to say or what?” J’onn’s serious eyes follow her gaze to the pair. Winn turns his gaze to James, instantly putting him on the spot. 

“Fine.” James clears his throat and smiles nervously. “So, a few days ago, I went to see Lex Luthor….”

“You **what!?** ” Alex exclaims. “Why the hell would you do that?” 

“I needed to know what he knew about the red kryptonite,” James tells her as he stuffs his large hands into his front pockets. 

“Did he know anything?” J’onn inquires, dropping his gaze. There’s a sad hopefulness in his voice. Over the years, Kara and Alex had become a new family for him, one that he never thought he’d find on this planet. When he had arrived, he spent decades on the run from the DEO and a relentless agent hellbent on killing him. The experience had made him bitter, closed off, but being around Alex and Kara had changed him. They accepted him the way no one else ever had. Now with Kara slipping further and further into the darkness, J’onn is plagued with the familiar feeling of loss. 

“He did,” James answers slowly. Alex’s brow furrows when he looks away. “He claims he didn’t expose Kara to it but he knows a way to stop it.” 

“Really.” Alex is dubious. No one hated Kara more than Lex Luthor, why would he offer James any information that could save her? 

“What did he say?” J’onn prompts James to go on. 

“He said that a concentrated dose of the natural green kryptonite should be able to counteract the red.” 

“ _Should?_ ” Alex repeats carefully. James, unable to meet her gaze, turns to Winn to finish. 

“It might kill her,” Winn mumbles in discomfort.

“ _Might?_ Are you _fucking insane?_ ” 

“What other options do we have, Alex?” James demands in an angry shout. “Every second Kara’s on red kryptonite is another second someone else _dies_. She just murdered those bank robbers, not to mention dozens of Children of Liberty.” 

“She did it to save all those aliens they had rounded up to execute,” J’onn says guardedly. The fringe group’s activities had been ramping up in the recent week, seeking to eliminate any aliens they could manage to abduct and the government did little to nothing about it. Despite the Alien Amnesty Act, aliens still aren’t recognized as the full citizens they are. 

“And that’s horrible. But they were _humans_ , J’onn. They’re just…frustrated and scared.” 

“I guess your opinions have really changed since you became their poster boy,” Alex scoffs, shaking her head. 

“No. They just look at Guardian as a human hero. What’s wrong with that?” 

“So you like their support?”

“No!”

“Then why haven’t you denounced them, James?” Alex challenges, already certain of the answer James won’t give her. He enjoys it, having his own circle of followers, having people that look to him to save the day instead of Supergirl.

“Regardless,” he says after a long pause. “They didn’t deserve to die.”

“Neither did the countless aliens they’ve killed,” J’onn shoots back at James with a red glow in his eyes. “Many of them were refugees, they were just trying to move forward with their lives as best they can. It’s bad enough that the government has done _nothing_ to protect aliens, only forcing them to live in obscurity. Now they have to deal with radical hate groups trying to kill them.” J’onn was usually calm, the voice of reason amidst chaos and uncertainty. But recently, he felt the plight of his fellow aliens and found himself struggling to contain his own outrage.

“It doesn’t give Kara the right to kill them,” James counters as he stares back at the Martian fearlessly. “She doesn’t get to play god.”

“But you’re willing to risk killing her,” Alex says in an accusatory tone. “You’re supposed to be one of her best friends.”

“Yea and look at what she did to me.” James lifts his arm, displaying the white cast. “She was ready to _kill_ me, Alex. She doesn’t give a fuck about any of us. You think she’ll hesitate to rip us apart? We _need_ to stop her.”

“Not like this!” Alex yells fiercely, resisting the urge to reach for her gun in the drawer next to her. “We are _not_ risking my sister’s life. Do you hear me, James?” Her eyes furiously meet his vacant stare. Why was she putting herself on the line for someone who no longer loved her? Why couldn’t she see that this may be their only way to save the world from this overpowered terrorist? 

“J’onn, you get what I’m saying, right? You had contingency plans at the DEO to stop Clark if needed.” J’onn looks over at James and nods slowly. His rocky relationship with Superman was the result of those plans he had made as Director of the DEO, in an effort to protect a planet that would never fully accept him. 

“Killing Clark was never a part of those plans,” J’onn states firmly. “And I certainly won’t kill Kara.” 

“That _thing_ is not Kara,” James snarls with a hard stare. “The Kara we knew? The Kara we loved? She’s gone and what we’re left with is a threat to this entire world.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have any other options.”

“Actually…there’s still one other option,” Winn chimes in softly, his discomfort at the angry tension in the room increasing by the second. “Lena. She can still figure this out.” 

James’s bites the inside of his cheek at the mentioning of his girlfriend’s name. Or ex-girlfriend, she never did have the decency to tell him if it was over. “Lena is on Kara’s side now.” 

“You don’t know that!” Alex screams in frustration. “None of us do. Winn’s right, Lena may be the only person who can even get close to Kara now. We need to trust her.” 

“You _can_ but I _don’t_ ,” James practically growls through his teeth. He’s more upset than he should be, fuming at the simple the truth. Lena didn’t love him, she couldn’t love him because she was already in love with Kara. 

“I get that you’re mad at her but —.”

“Don’t even start with me, Alex.”

“Um Alex.” Winn scrambles to his feet and reaches for the remote to turn the volume up. He sinks into the empty space next to J’onn as a Presidential address flashes across the screen.

**_“My fellow Americans, it is with a heavy heart that I come before you today to say that the hero known as Supergirl has been classified as an enemy of the state. For the protection and security of the citizens in National City, I will be imposing martial law and a curfew on all aliens. Any alien caught outside after 7pm will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Times are difficult but we will get though this together as Americans._**

**_“To Supergirl, if you’re listening, we want you to know that we know who you are. We know who you care about. If you want to keep your secret, you will surrender to the United States military. We don’t want a war with you, Supergirl, but your actions will not go on without consequences. You have until midnight to comply.”_ **

Panic settles in the pit of Alex’s stomach but it’s short lived, instantly replaced by an anger she’s rarely ever felt. Her furious eyes rest on Winn and James and the question comes out of her mouth slowly. “Which one of you did this?”

“Alex,” Winn starts but the agent’s intense glare stops him from going further. 

“Who told Haley? Which one of you was it?” 

“It wasn’t them.” Alex turns at the sound of Maggie’s voice and finds the detective standing in the doorway. In all her angry shouting, she hadn’t even heard the door open. 

“Maggie.”

“I’m sorry,” she says in a voice barely above a whisper. Before anyone else can say anything, FBI agents march into Alex’s apartment, brandishing semi-automatic weapons. “It’s just the guys.” Alex’s eyes widen as she takes in the scene before her and she turns around to face J’onn. 

“Get them out of here.” The Martian nods and quickly appears between James and Winn. He places a hand on both of them and charges to the open window before he takes flight. Two of the agents run towards the window, unable to follow the Martian’s quickly vanishing flight path. 

“They got away,” one agent growls into his comms. “Let’s go.” He signals the others to leave. Maggie shrinks back as the agents walk past her to exit the apartment. And a silence falls. Maggie eventually lifts her gaze from the floor but Alex isn’t looking at her, too busy trying not to strangle the woman she loves. 

“Danvers, let me explain….”

“Explain what? How you betrayed me?”

“I did what I did to protect you!” Tears stream down Maggie’s face as she tries to close the distance but Alex holds a hand out in warning. She knew what she was risking, she knew that Alex protected _nothing_ as fiercely as she did Kara’s secret. She couldn’t stand it, especially now when Kara would kill Alex at a moment’s notice. Kara didn’t deserve Alex’s undying loyalty, she never did.

“By putting everyone I care about at risk?” Alex demands in a low growl. The FBI would not stop at J’onn and the boys. There was no doubt in Alex’s mind that they’d be knocking down Eliza’s door soon if they hadn’t already. 

“Don’t you get how terrifying this situation is for me?” Maggie asks, totally exasperated. “Every day when you leave the house, I’m not sure if you’re coming back. I was scared out of my mind when you went to meet Kara. You said it yourself, she would’ve hurt you if Lena hadn’t called her.” This is why Alex avoided talking about Kara with Maggie, because of the hysteria that would takeover in the detective and the overprotectiveness that would follow. She just couldn’t understand the bond Alex had formed with Kara, how a huge piece of her was missing now that her sister was gone.

“She’s my sister, Maggie.” Alex finally rests her gaze on the detective with tears welled up in her eyes. “I have to protect her.”

“She’s not your sister!” Maggie yells in opposition, taking Alex aback. “She’s a _monster_.” The wetness in Alex’s eyes evaporate instantly as her gaze hardens. 

“What did they give you?”

“Alex….”

“What the fuck did they give you?” 

“They won’t prosecute us for withholding information and they’ll let us leave the city tonight.” That was the deal Maggie demanded and Haley willingly agreed. The colonel told her to gather their things and meet at the DEO desert facility where they’d be assigned to their protection detail. She supposed, given how desperate Haley was, she could’ve negotiated for the guys to receive the same treatment but she didn’t. Her primary focus was her fiancée, even if it meant Alex hating her for the rest of their lives. At least she’d be safe. 

“Where are you going?” Maggie asks, panic overtaking her as Alex turns to walk out the door. She stops in the doorway and looks over her shoulder as she removes the diamond studded ring from her ring. 

“I’m going to find J’onn and the others. Don’t follow me and don’t be here when I get back.” Alex’s words cut through Maggie’s heart like a knife. She wants to call out for her, force her to come with her at gunpoint if needed but she can’t speak, can’t move. Heartbreak has her rooted to the spot. 

* * *

Kara stares with a scowl at the television in the living area of Lena’s smart home. The potstickers in front of her all but abandoned as the rage inside her heart gives her nourishment. 

“It’s like they’re trying to piss me off.” Kara motions at the message as it plays once more on the new cycle. Her eyes are dark and filled with a scorching fury but the amusement at the government’s latest strategy is present as well. 

“Aren’t you worried?” Lena asks, turning her attention away from the screen and towards Kara. “They know who you are.”

“No they don’t,” Kara replies in a low voice, her lips curling up into a sinister grin as red cracks pulse across her skin. “But they soon will.” The government could issue all the threats they wanted, deploy all the troops they had. It wouldn’t matter. As long as the sun blazed, blessing Kara with its limitless power, they will never win. With Lena and her alien brethren at her side, she’d be truly unstoppable. 

Kara’s focus falls on Lena when the shorter woman speaks again. “So it’s time then.” Lena had been hoping to postpone the inevitable clash between Kara and military for as long as possible. As much as she believed in the vision of the future Kara had painted for her, she wasn’t naïve, she knew that that reality would never come without cost. And that cost would be dearly.

“Yes.” Kara reaches out a hand to her. She can sense Lena’s ambivalence with every revealing beat of her heart. “Are you still with me?” 

“Always,” she says without pause as she takes Kara’s hand and allows the blonde to pull her in. Kara envelopes Lena with her warmth, her eyes flashing a deep red. 

“Good.” She breaks out of the embrace abruptly and makes her way to Lena’s lab. Hope displays the black mesh suit and Kara finds herself smiling again. Lena truly is brilliant beyond words, creating something so durable yet lightweight. Kara traces the symbol of the House of El with her fingers, a symbol of her fallen home. A symbol that once represented the best of Krypton. 

A symbol that will soon be known throughout the galaxy for its power. 

A simple command to Hope activates the nanotechnology in the suit, causing it to separate into a swarm and surround Kara. She holds her arms out and spreads her feet apart, making it easier for the suit to reform around her. The cold material clashes with her warmth. The suit is close-fitting but comfortable, breathable. It’s absolute perfection. 

“How does it feel?” Lena’s murmured question turns Kara’s gaze to the doorway.

“Like power.” She looks down at her hands, catching the crimson glow as it coursed through her. “And soon, they’ll all know it. They’ll know my power and they will submit to it.” An uneasiness settles in Lena’s heart at the deranged glint in the blonde’s eyes. It was almost as if Kara was hoping that the military would provoke her, would do anything that would justify her attack.

Kara’s eyes flash over to Lena again when the brunette falls silent. “Something’s troubling you.” She walks over to the doorway normally, stopping just in front of Lena. Her knuckles brush along Lena’s face softly, the rage dissipates ever so slightly from her eyes. “What is it?”

“I need you to promise me something,” Lena starts, unsure about how Kara will react. “Promise me that you won’t engage with military. Just say what you have to say and meet me back at the penthouse. Please.” Kara doesn’t answer right away, her hand dropping from Lena’s cheek. Her expression is indecipherable but Lena doesn’t exhale until she gets a reply.

It’s only one very enunciated word. “Why?” The blue liquid in her eyes harden as her powerful gaze intensifies.

“I…I just don’t want innocent people to get hurt. Enough people have died already.” Kara had taken so many lives in such a short passage of time, Lena wasn’t even sure what the real number was. And the complicity was weighing on her heavily. Sure enough Kara hadn’t killed anyone who didn’t deserve it but it was immoral nonetheless. The part of Lena that knew this would not leave her be.

“They won’t,” Kara answers as hands that could rip apart steel cup Lena’s face gently. “I promise.” 

* * *

An exhausted Colonel Haley pulls into her driveway, her eyes drifting down to the digital clock on her dashboard. It’s a quarter to eleven, the deadline of the government’s ultimatum quickly approaching. She’s anxious, having put herself on the line to try to threaten an unhinged Kryptonian into submission. But there’s no way Supergirl could know if it was her sleuthing that armed the White House with that information, right? She quickly undoes her seatbelt and rushes into the house. The babysitter is sitting in the living room, surprised to see Haley home hours before expected. After the day she had, all Haley wanted was to come home to her daughter, to wrap her little pride and joy into her arms and never let go. She dismisses the sitter, paying the college student extra before she climbs the stairs to her daughter’s room. 

A frightening scene waits for her behind the door. 

“Hello Colonel,” Kara greets coldly. She’s lying on the bed, her hand stroking the little girl’s hair softly. Without thinking, Haley pulls out her gun, her trembling finger ready to squeeze the trigger. “Now, now. We wouldn’t want a stray bullet hitting this little angel.” Haley lowers her gun slowly, never taking her eyes off of the erratic alien. 

“Please,” she begs quietly. “Please don’t hurt my daughter.” 

Kara’s looks down at the child and says, “Why would I hurt her? She’s innocent.” Her eyes flash over to Haley with a look so vicious the seasoned colonel loses her grip on the gun. “You on the other hand, are _not_.” Kara zooms over to Haley, slamming her forcefully against the wall with only one hand. Haley’s vision blurs when the back of her head collides with the wall and she feels something warm trickle down her neck. 

“You must be _so_ proud of yourself, finding out my little secret,” Kara says with a mocking grin. “I can’t figure out if you’re brave or stupid, thinking that this will stop me.” Her grip around the colonel’s neck tightens. “Because it won’t. _Nothing_ will. But I am curious to know who told you.” The list of potential suspects is relatively short, consisting of her so-called friends and family and a few DEO agents. She could probably find out on her own but coming here to strike Haley with the fear of God was too delicious to pass up. 

“It was Detective Sawyer,” Haley croaks out using what little air Kara’s hand allowed her to breath in. The blonde was expecting more resistance from the stoic woman who was practically shaking in her grasp, her eyes desperately looking to her daughter. 

“Are…are you going to kill me?” Haley’s question comes out in staggered gasps as fear grips tightly at her heart. Seeing Supergirl on TV was one thing, having the Kryptonian in front of her now was something else entirely. She couldn’t remember her military training, she couldn’t even breath as her lungs burned, aching for oxygen. The Kryptonian’s menacing presence made her realize just how out of her depth she was to even think she could control her. 

“I’m not going to leave a child motherless,” Kara replies with no emotion except for red waves of barely contained rage swirling in her eyes. Haley gasps loudly when Kara releases her but the period of relief is brief as the blonde places a hand over the colonel’s mouth and smiles with a maniac glee. “But don’t be fooled. I am not a merciful god. I’m a vengeful one.” Without warning, a blast of air colder than liquid nitrogen covers Haley’s hand, stopping at her wrist. The woman’s agonized cry at the sudden frost bite are muted by the tight clamp of Kara’s hand. 

“Shh.” Kara hushes her softly, leaning forward a bit. Then her other hand crashes into the frozen structure like a wrecking ball, breaking it apart easily. Kara’s smile grows at the sight of tears flowing out of Haley’s eyes as they glaze over. Once she’s certain that Haley won’t scream, she removes her hand and disappears through the window. Haley collapses to the floor, clutching at a hand that was no long there. 

* * *

Kara rests her back against the spire of one of the tallest buildings in the city. She came here a lot as Supergirl, to think, to drink in the sounds of people milling around on the streets below her. She used to listen in with longing at the romantic conversations between couples, a child’s happy scream in their father’s arms. Things that felt unattainable for her. But now as she’s listening, she’s starting to hear other conversations. 

_The crime rate is as low as it’s ever been because of Supergirl._

_I’m glad she’s doing something permanent about these criminals._

_The Children of Liberty are going to regret the day they started targeting us._

_Thanks to Supergirl, I feel safe for the first time on this planet._

The support among some humans and her alien brethren was growing rapidly while others started to fear and distrust her. 

_I thought Supergirl was on our side._

_She’s a no good alien, just like the rest of them._

_The military is going to destroy her and all the other fucking aliens._

_We stand with Agent Liberty. The earth belongs to humans._

She takes off into the sky to initiate phase one of her plan. The newsroom at CatCo plaza falls to a pin-drop silence when Kara enters through the balcony, her black cape flourishing behind her. Kara turns her gaze on her former coworkers and smiles cruelly as she points to a young man with a video camera. 

“Turn your camera on me,” she orders. “I have a message to deliver to the world.”


	7. Dangerous Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mastermind behind Kara’s red k infection is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fams. This chapter is pretty violent and features the death of main(ish?) character in a very graphic way (some might say it’s heartless) so just a heads up! Also I just started a lab position so next update might be a while. I’ll do my best! Enjoy.
> 
> Please heed the tags.

Franklin loves his job at CatCo magazine, loves being a camera man, loves capturing all the timeless moments around him. At CatCo, it was easy to forget about being an alien and just be appreciated for his passion. Until recently. The Children of Liberty’s hate inspired violence against aliens destroyed the peace Franklin had believed to have found on earth. So when Supergirl showed up out of the blue, commanding the use of his camera, Franklin doesn’t hesitate. With an awkward grace, he angles it onto his left shoulder and cues her to speak when ready. Kara doesn’t hesitate either as she straightens her stance and focuses on the lens. She listens in to Lena’s steady heart beat several blocks away, synchronizing her own breaths to it in an effort to remain calm.

“National City,” she starts as Franklin adjusts the frame. “Many of you know me as Supergirl, some as Kara Danvers, but my true name is Kara Zor-El of Krypton. The US government has chosen to defame me, brand me an enemy of the state because they are fearful of the truth that I threaten to expose. The truth is that they have failed this city, this country. They protect criminals and corrupt corporations while they prosecute the innocent and those who oppose them. They allow hate against those who are different to spread in this nation like a cancer because of their greed for wealth and power.

“This government seeks to repress aliens and immigrants, to make us feel indebted to them just because we have no home to return to. It’s time to put an end to their failures and their ignorance. It’s time to remind them that we are the ones who hold the power. We are the ones who are going to move this planet forward. I am calling on each and every one of you to rise up, to take your rightful places on this earth and seize your destinies. Stand with me as we usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. And to those who think they can silence me, know this. I won’t tolerate being threatened nor will I tolerate threats to innocent lives.”

Franklin follows the subtle directive from Kara and ends the broadcast, calling out to her when she turns to leave. “Supergirl. Or Kara, can I still call you Kara?” 

She smiles a little. “That is my name.” 

“Right. I…I’m really inspired by what you just said. I think a lot of us are.” He turns to look around the room at some of his coworkers who were inching towards them. “I’m not such of a fighter but I will stand with you, Kara Zor-El.” Others murmur in agreement as Franklin tentatively turns his image inducer off for the first time, revealing the two spikes protruding from his elbows. He can feel the strength in her hand as he shakes it. 

“Excellent. Spread the word to meet around CatCo. I have a nuisance to take care of.” 

* * *

Wide-eyed, Maggie clutches the remote tightly in her hands as she listens anxiously to Kara’s speech. The blonde’s word are measured and direct, delivered with a sinister smile on her lips as she called upon an army to rise. Even with her human ears Maggie can hear the chants in the streets near Alex’s apartment as aliens broke curfew across the city.

She feels torn as she stares at the time on her phone and all the calls Alex refused to answer. She should’ve left hours ago but could not bring herself to do so without at least trying to wait for Alex. A wasted effort really, Alex would remain the last person to give up hope on Kara. She would never be able to see the belligerent monster that Maggie can see. 

She picks up the ring Alex had thrown on the floor, her heart aching a little. It was the first time Alex had even removed it since they got engaged, the wedding postponed indefinitely thanks to the never ending Supergirl related crises. But now feels permanent, etched into stone. She sighs as she places the ring on the coffee table alongside a note.

> I hope you can forgive me. I love you, Danvers.

With one final look around the apartment, Maggie hauls the strap of the duffle bag onto her shoulder and opens the door.

“Detective.” Kara’s maniac grin sends a shiver of pure terror down Maggie’s spine and on instinct she slams the door shut and locks it. She backs away, her heart beating in her throat as she listens to Kara’s muffled laughter. Just a subtle tap of Kara’s finger is enough to break the door down. It may as well had been made of tissue paper. An angry wave of red swirls around in her eyes as she steps into the apartment. Golden locks fall just past her shoulders and a bold smile tugs at the corner of her lips. 

“Did you really think that this little door would keep you safe?” Kara asks, genuinely curious. In all honesty, Maggie never thought about how physically strong Kara is, how even a simple handshake revealed a raw power that seemed foreign coming from a Midwestern blonde. 

“ _Don’t_ come any closer!” Maggie shouts as she raises her gun at the amused Kryptonian. Despite the fear licking at her heart she manages to keep her hands steady, aiming at the symbol of the House of El like a bullseye. Kara clicks her tongue in disapproval as she eyes the sawed-off shotgun. 

“I’m really tired of humans pointing their guns at me.” She takes a menacing step forward and watches as kryptonite bullets soar through the air one by one. Brass casings fall to the floor as the poisoned slugs continue on their trajectory. They bounce off the surface of Kara’s new suit, like heavy raindrops on a sidewalk. Steel-like fingers protected in a sleek black glove pluck the last bullet out of the air. 

“NCPD has kryptonite bullets now,” Kara murmurs, mostly to herself, as she brings it closer to her face. It’s crazy how a radioactive fragment of her home world had the power to bring her to her knees under the insurmountable pain. She never had any doubts about the effectiveness of Lena’s craftsmanship but having the chance to test it out now made Kara fully realize.

 _She’s invincible._

“How….” Maggie’s voice trails as she lowers the shotgun slowly. 

“You can thank Lena.” Kara’s eyes light up in a familiar way. “She’s brilliant, isn’t she? So unappreciated by all of you.” Maggie doesn’t say anything more, her mind swarmed as she tries to think of an escape. Even if she manages to get to the window, there was no way she’d survive a fall from the fifth floor, certainly not without severe injury. That’s assuming Kara even allows her to move. She abandons that thought when Kara carelessly flicks the kryptonite bullet towards her. The detective nearly pisses herself as the bullet whips past her face with a daring closeness, becoming lodged into the column next to her. 

“So, how did it feel betraying my sister and endangering everyone we know?” Kara demands with a glint of danger in her dark eyes. 

Anger overtakes the fear in her heart. “I didn’t betray her. I did what I had to do to protect her from you!” And she had no regrets.

Kara’s mirthless chuckle is like gasoline on Maggie’s raging fire. “Oh please, that’s not why you did it. Come on, Maggie. It’s just the two of us. You can be honest.” Kara cocks her head and listens as Maggie’s heart races faster. 

“Fine. I did it because I don’t _like_ you,” Maggie sneers, meeting Kara’s gaze fearlessly. “I have _never_ liked you. You think you’re a god but you’re not. You’re a fucking egomaniac.” Maggie’s initial impression of Kara only worsened over time the more she got to know the blonde. She didn’t see the compassion and warmth, the sunny Danvers disposition that was Kara’s default. No, she saw what existed underneath that saccharine veneer, the darkness that threatened to one day surface. In Maggie’s eyes, that’s what made Kara and Alex’s relationship so toxic, with Kara purposefully dominating the agent’s life. And why? Kara liked knowing that Alex’s whole world revolved around her. 

Kara regards her for a split second. “The feeling is mutual. You tried to take my sister away from me.” She pouts childishly. “That wasn’t very nice.” 

“I gave Alex a chance to finally live her life for herself!” she yells fiercely. If looks could kill, Kara would be on the floor right now, stiff as a plank. “To do something for herself for _once_.” They both know all too well how complicated Alex’s dating life was, first because she struggled with her sexuality and then because of her commitment to her sister. Even while Alex found herself and her own slice of heaven, Maggie could see the outrage in Kara just beneath the surface as she feigned happiness for the couple. But now, under the influence of red kryptonite, Kara wasn’t hiding anymore and she was pushing all the detective’s buttons. 

“Alex’s life has been in service of me from the moment I arrived on this sorry excuse of a planet.” Kara’s blue eyed gaze turns to steel, sending another icy shiver down Maggie’s spine. “And you _hate_ that your precious love wasn’t strong enough to change that. Even now, Alex would die for me.” Her eyes rest on the coffee table, narrowing in on the ring. “Would she die for you?” Maggie’s hands curl into fists of utter fury as she glares at the arrogant god before her. Kara picks the ring up and crushes it between her fingers. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.” Kara speeds over to Maggie, catching the frantic woman by the throat. Maggie grips at Kara’s unmovable hand in futility. 

“Kara, wait,” Maggie gasps as her feet lift off the ground. “Please, please don’t kill me. Alex will never forgive you for this! She wouldn’t want you to do this!” 

“That’s her problem, not mine.” 

“Please Kara!”

The blonde regards the pathetic human squirming in her grasp and her eyes soften a bit. “Do you love her?” 

“Yes!” Maggie croaks out with her limited air supply. “Yes I love her. She has my heart.” 

“No she doesn’t,” Kara says with a manic smile, the veins in her hand glowing with an evil power. “But don’t worry.” Her other hand presses into Maggie’s chest with a slow, increasing pressure. “I’ll make sure she gets it.” 

“Kara wait plea —.” Maggie’s pleas are cut short. Kara’s keen ears are filled the sound of Maggie’s chest caving in. Her steel-like fingers clamp around the delicate mass of muscle, coating her hand in a warm, bright liquid. Her wicked grin widens in utter delight as she watches the life drain from Maggie’s eyes. Then her hand retracts, taking with it Maggie’s heart, leaving a gaping hole in the detective’s chest. Maggie’s body drops to the floor, like a robot with an off switch. Kara crushes the red mass into nothing with the tight closure of her powerful hand. She sighs deeply as the red kryptonite courses through her body, spreading like a poison. But she didn’t want a cure, she wanted more. She looks down at Maggie’s lifeless body with great disdain as she walks over it towards the window, drinking in the praise from the streets before her. 

They worship her. 

“ _Supergirl! Supergirl! Supergirl! Supergirl!_ ”

She takes off into the sky towards the large crowd that had gathered outside of CatCo. They turn their attention to her, increasing the volume of their cheers. She lands gracefully in front of them, taking the time to shake their hands and learn if they were alien or human. She moves through the group slowly, stopping when Franklin steps towards her.

“We all want to fight with you, Kara Zor-El. Lead us and we will follow you.” Red eclipses the blue of Kara’s eyes, creating a deadly purple hue like a thunder storm. She turns to the sounds of approaching tanks and soldiers and finds herself smiling merrily. 

A man with a buzz cut holds a megaphone to his lips. “My name is Colonel James Harper of the United States Army. All aliens return to your homes immediately or you will be prosecuted.” He pauses to point at Kara. “And you Supergirl, you’re under arrest.”

* * *

The former man of tomorrow leans forward in his seat, his eyes glued to the screen in front of him. The Situation Room at the White House, what an interesting place for Lex Luthor to be in. But who else could the government call on for help with their Kryptonian problem? Though President Baker loathed to admit it, America needed Lex Luthor. 

Just like Lex had planned. 

Years ago when Superman had revealed himself to the world after saving a commercial aircraft, that was when Lex’s greatest obsession began. Who was this mysterious flying man with the strength of the gods? Where had he come from? What did he want? Lex sought out these answers through the guise of friendship and slowly lost himself to the maddening jealousy as the people of earth looked to Superman to save the world instead of him. It was supposed to be _him_ , not some foreign invader they knew nothing about. An alien with enough power to rival any military. An alien who was one bad day away from destroying the world. 

So Lex acted. He turned the sun red, he tried to save humanity from the future threat that he alone could see. But the humans sided with the alien and branded him a psychopath. He stood there as they put them on trial, so focused on the causalities to innocent lives his actions had caused that they couldn’t see the bigger picture. He smiled contentedly as the bodies of the jurors collapsed, as the judge’s throat constricted and her air supply dwindled. 

_That’s what they get._

As the passage of time slowed, he stared out at the metal bars of his shoebox prison cell and became content to simply leave humanity to their fate. Eventually they’ll come to realize that he was right all along and they’ll _beg_ him to clean the mess they allowed to happen. And so he watched as the rogue Kryptonians launched Myriad, as the Daxamites invaded, as the Worldkillers terraformed the planet. He waited for humans to realize that he was _right_. But they didn’t and why?

Because a cute blonde in a red cape flew around saving kittens from trees and babies from burning buildings. Because Supergirl’s infallibility lended all aliens some form of credibility. Because his sister gave them a way to hide with her image inducers. Soon Lex realized exactly what needed to happen. In order to get what he wanted, in order to be hailed as the world’s saviour, Supergirl had to go but not in a way that would make her a martyr. No, he needed her to turn America onto him and away from her. He needed red kryptonite. 

Now, as he sits in the White House, intensely watching the live feed of Colonel Harper’s attack against Supergirl and her alien allies, he feels an unfamiliar emotion. Is this what regret feels like? Had Lex Luthor actually miscalculated? Had he turned Supergirl into more of a monster than he could handle? 

Colonel Harper’s distraught shrill breaks Lex out of his thoughts. The feed was muddled but clarity wasn’t necessary to know what was unfolding. Supergirl’s black cape whips around in the wind like a flag of death as she moves forward, using her impervious body to protect the more vulnerable people in the crowd. Lex can see it in her eyes just how pissed off she is. 

“Fire all the kryptonite weapons you have now!” Lex growls into his comms as he struggles against the pure terror licking at his cold heart. It was a weak emotion, one that he certainly never felt towards Superman. 

Following the command, kryptonite laced bullets soar through the air from a frenzy of semi-automatic weapons as each soldier empties their magazine. Tanks fire, grenades launch, generating a deafening cacophony of booms. A thick layer of green smoke collects around her, reducing the feed’s visual. Harper pokes his out of the roofless vehicle, smiling in premature victory. 

“I think we got her, sir,” he declares in excitement into the walkie. President Baker exhales loudly as he loosens his tie, looking over at Lex for confirmation. Lex holds his breath as he waits patiently with a psychotic smile tugging at the corners of his lips. 

His jaw drops to the floor the moment he sees her.

Supergirl lifts off and hovers just above the emerald smog, like a phoenix rising from the ashes with nary a scratch on her. Harper loses his grip on the walkie when he eyes her, no longer able to voice commands. His throat is dry, closed off from a lump that wouldn’t go away. And when his eyes clashed with hers he knew. 

_No one was leaving there alive._

Supergirl’s maniacal laughter unsettles even Lex Luthor as she slams a soldier’s head against a tank, crushing his skull like a hydraulic press. Several dozen bodies crumple into ash from a blast of the sun’s scorching power channeled through her eyes. She looks terrifyingly beautiful, flying over the deserters and raining down a vengeful fire. The remaining soldiers frantically unleash everything they have in a final desperate attempt to end her. But they can’t, like a force of nature she does not bend to the will of men. Like scissors through paper, she effortlessly rips tanks apart, discarding the damaged metal on top of fleeing soldiers, crushing their bones and organs instantly. 

Driven by fright and agitation, one soldier foolishly tries to punch her when his ammunition runs out. She catches his fist in her hand, smiling in amusement at the audacity. Then she slaps him into silence, so hard that his skin breaks free from his skull and falls among the debris. Her eyes widen in astonishment at the sight, his broken jaw hanging off at the side. She lets go of his pulverized hand and watches him fall back in a daze, leaving him to bleed out.

Harper shoves another doomed soldier out of the way as he runs like hell away from Supergirl. The lactic acid build up burns away at his legs muscles, his breathing deep and laboured but he doesn’t stop. Not until she lands in front of him, blocking his path to escape. He slams into her rock solid body and stumbles back on his heels but her hand darts forward to catch him at the collar. She pulls him back up, eyes filled with a blazing rage pierce into him. 

“Please Supergirl,” he starts, shitting himself as he stares death in the face. She grimaces when a whiff travels up her nostrils. “Please don’t kill me. Please.”

“Why not? You were so ready to kill me.”

“You’re supposed to be a hero!” He cries out when her grip moves from his collar to his throat. “But if you do this, you’re a villain!” He hopes that his words will buy him survival but Kara’s sinister smile kills that thought immediately.

“I’m not trying to be a hero,” she says matter-of-factly as her hold around his neck tightens, his feet kicking at her shin frantically. Her grin widens at his pathetic efforts. “But you can call me a villain if it makes you feel better.” 

“No wait! Plea—.” She feels every bone snap under the tiniest fraction of her infinite strength, as if they were made of glass. She pulls the camera from his uniform and drops him unceremoniously to the cold ground. 

“I hope you’re watching, Mr. President. See what you made me do? And I will continue to do it if you keep fucking around with me. I am _not_ playing games, old man. Stay the fuck out of my way.” The feed ends abruptly when she crushes the camera in her fist. Baker swallows hard, cold sweat running down his back as he realizes he had provoked a god to wrath and the cost was innumerable. The hopelessness leaves him when his gaze shifts to a nonchalant Lex Luthor. 

“You said that you could end this!” Baker yells as he rises to his feet and jabs a finger at an unmoving Lex. In his gut he knew that turning to Lex would bite him in the ass but he was in a right bind. 

“I can end it and I will,” Lex answers calmly, still looking at the terminated feed. When he had heard about Supergirl flying out of L-Corp with Lena, he wasn’t sure what it meant. Surely Lena didn’t know her favourite person was also secretly National City’s famed hero, right? And if she did, she couldn’t have forgiven her, sided with her. But Lex’s fears had been confirmed from the moment he eyed Supergirl’s black suit. He’d recognize Lena’s handiwork anywhere. He’d shower her begrudgingly with praise for creating something so inspired if he weren’t so enraged by it. Once again, a filthy Kryptonian had usurped his place. It was supposed to be Lex and Lena Luthor changing the world. _Not_ Kara Zor-El. 

“No,” Baker says as he waves his finger vigorously. “You’re finished, Lex. You hear me? _Finished!_ I never should’ve brought you in on this.” He drags in his palm down his face and sighs heavily. “We need to find a way to contact Superman.” 

_Superman_. That name is the match that lit the fuse to Lex’s impeding explosion. It was his trigger and the guise of a suave businessman faded, only to be replaced by a stark raving madman. Without warning, he crosses the room and catches Baker by the collar, roughly jerking the man forward. 

“ _Forget Superman_ ,” he growls furiously. Baker could practically see the wildfire in his brown eyes. Secret Service agents cock their guns, ready to take the shot but Baker motions them to hold. “Superman is on a fucking rock floating through space like it’s some Caribbean cruise line. _I_ am the man of tomorrow. _Me! Me! I_ am the one who’s going to save humanity.” 

“How?” Baker demands, his glare never dropping. Lex smiles cunningly as he releases his grip and dusts off Baker’s lapel. 

“Well, that all depends on how far you’re willing to let me go.” Baker’s heart clenches at the crazed look on Lex’s face. Is it really wise to try to stop an unhinged Kryptonian with an even more unstable Luthor? What other choice does the world have right now?

“Fine,” he allows reluctantly. “But I won’t do anything that puts American lives at even greater risk.”

“The greater _risk_ is flying around reducing humans to ash,” Lex hisses with a seething venom as he straightens his tie. 

Baker’s remains unshaken as he meets Lex’s gaze and submits to the murderous glint in the madman’s eyes. “I’m warning you, Lex. You only have one chance.”

“That’s all I need. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have a phone call to make.” He holds himself tall as he walks out of the room and down the hall. There’s several missed calls on his phone, many from Mercy, but he doesn’t pay them any mind as he places the only call that matters.

“Lex.”

“It’s time to accelerate our plans.” 

* * *

One hour, forty-five minutes and thirteen seconds. 

That’s how long J’onn has been staring at the dashboard of his convertible. He thought he had made up his mind as he flew over here to the storage unit. Now that he’s here, he feels unsure. Is this the right move to make? He wants to be on the right side of history. The words Kara had said to him the last time he saw her are still fresh in his mind, as if they had been spoken seconds ago. 

_”Continue being a Martian of peace, J’onn. Let them slaughter your kind. Run away from the fight just like you did on Mars”._

J’onn roars in frustration, slamming his palm against the steering wheel. At the end of the day, he was neither a Martian of peace nor the Martian Manhunter as he claimed. He’s a coward, a deserter, someone who ran away in exile rather than die with dignity amongst his people. Is living on earth where he would only be tolerated truly worth it instead of being reunited with his family in death? 

_”My son would never run away.”_

His father said those words confidently, believing in an image of J’onn that was never really true. J’onn closes his eyes as he inhales and exhales slowly, deeply. He centres himself, determined to keep his own anger in check. He watched as war ravaged his home world, as people allowed their differences to pull them apart. He wouldn’t stand by and witness it again. He turns the key in the ignition and rolls the car out of the unit. It lifts off into the sky, reconfiguring into a Martian bio-ship as he leaves earth’s atmosphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exactly how Lex exposed Kara to red k will be revealed in later chapters. Drop a comment let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by :)


	8. Consume Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena’s awakening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wazzzup everyone? Had a half day at work today so I used it to finish up this chapter (yay!).

Kara’s blonde hair falls in loose curls past her shoulder, red waves clash with the dark blue of her eyes, tight bands of muscle in her arms and legs flex against the black mesh fabric of her suit. She’s stunning in the most lethal way. She ducks her head down, her lips meeting Lena’s with a seductive heat. Lena’s lips part eagerly allowing Kara’s tongue to lap into her mouth. She can taste rage and power in the rough, jagged touch of the kiss but the press of Kara’s hand against the small of her back is light and delicate. It was the sort of contrast that always surprised her.

Lena takes a moment to regain her breath when their lips separate before she speaks. “Kara remember what you promised me.” The Kryptonian looks down at her lover, noting how much that promise seemed to mean to her. 

“I remember,” Kara whispers as she moves an errant strand of hair from Lena’s face. “I don’t want innocent people getting hurt either.” The breathtaking smile that dawns on Lena’s lips touches Kara’s heart in a way nothing else ever could and for a brief moment, the anger leaves her. She pulls the brunette into her, holding her close, filling her lungs with a sweet vanilla scent. Lena wraps her hands around Kara’s waist as the blonde clings to her. It’s as if Lena is her lifeline, something she simply cannot live without. “I’ll be back soon.” She pulls away, her gaze falling on Lena one last time before she takes off through the balcony and into the sky.

“Hope, activate the security protocols,” she says as she closes the balcony door of her penthouse. “Only allow entrance to Kara Zor-El.” 

“Yes, Ms. Luthor,” the A.I replies. Lena enters her home office and opens up her laptop, placing the disc from her vault inside. It contained the schematics and preliminary software for a line of robots Lena has been mulling over since her days at M.I.T. They were intended to be used during natural disasters and other life threatening crises to get people to safety and deliver essential supplies. Unpleasant memories begin to stir the more she stares at the screen, ones of Lex laughing in her face when she had shared it with him. 

-“ _That’s so cute Lena. Why don’t you add blonde hair and an hourglass figure to this glorified Barbie doll?”_ \- 

His ridicule led to her filing it away, her confidence in herself so fragile at that young age. If only she saw the fury in him over the fact that she, at sixteen years old, had devised something leaps and bounds ahead of what he could even dream of. What he saw in her was terrifying to say the least because he knew, he _knew_ , that she would out shine him if given the chance. But that didn’t stop him from silently recognizing her potential and stealing it for the design of his Lexosuit. 

Kara’s reaction had been so different. The Kryptonian was immediately engrossed by it, as she was with many of the things Lena had to say. Lena’s never had such a captive audience of one, never heard words of encouragement that lacked the bitterness of jealousy. 

Lena looks up at the digital clock in time to see it change from 11:59am to midnight. She turns on the TV mounted on the wall in front of her, tuning in to Kara’s response. They had discussed what Kara would say, how she would tell the world who she really is and what she’s trying to do. Lena had agreed with it but she never thought about the tone Kara would use, the cruel smile she would wear. But Kara’s words are passionate, filled with conviction that would spark inspiration greater than anyone would’ve ever thought possible. Needless to say, Lena feels a surge of pride as she listens, a smile blooming on her lips. Once Kara’s speech ends, Lena turns her attention back to her computer screen, still fine tuning some areas of the software to ensure it integrates perfectly with Hope. She’ll have to go to L-Corp to check on the production later.

When she snaps back to reality, her eyes glance over at the clock that now displayed 12:35am.

Where the hell is Kara? The distance from CatCo to Lena’s penthouse is a stone’s throw for her. Where could she be? As the sore muscles in Lena’s thighs ache slightly, she decides that what she needs is a hot, steamy bath. The first thing she sees when she enters her room is one of James’s shirts on the bed, the result of yet another lacklustre night. She tosses it in the garbage, certain that James wouldn’t want it back, before she strips out of her clothes. She checks her phone for any messages from Kara as she makes her way to the master bathroom. 

The email that wakes her screen beckons her to open it. She doesn’t recognize the sender but plays the video attachment nonetheless. Holding her phone horizontally, she watches as Kara and several aliens fight against a battalion of US soldiers with ease. Their weapons hit Kara with a hail of kryptonite bullets and grenades. Lena’s heart stops as she anxiously waits for Kara to surface. Had her suit failed? Before the crippling doubts dig into Lena any deeper, Kara rises out of the smoke, her eyes ablaze with the sun’s fury. Lena’s eyes widen as bodies burn to ash, as skulls cave in under tremendous force, as spikes pierce through chests. She watches as each solider meets their end, as Kara’s sadistic smile spreads across her face amidst the carnage that surrounds her. She watches it all and her stomach pinches, her blood running cold. The phone drops from her trembling hand and collides with the floor. 

_This is all for justice_. 

That’s the line Lena has been feeding to herself since Kara’s transformation. She didn’t want to believe that the blonde enjoyed it. This is all a means to an end. But Kara did enjoy it. Kara could not resist it, not even for her. For the first time, Lena allows herself to see just how far gone this fallen hero is and she feels her heart breaking. Warm, salty tears flow down her cheek like a river but no sob escapes her lips. Has the red kryptonite completely destroyed the Kara she loves? Is she really content to sit back and let that happen? 

She lifts her stinging eyes to the mirror and screams, her heart pounding out of her chest at the sight of a dark pair of eyes staring back at her menacingly.

“Kara! Darling, you scared me,” she breathes as she turns around, placing a hand over her chest as if that would still her racing heart. 

“Did I?” Kara looks amused as she takes a step closer. She notes the difference in Lena’s heartbeat, the tears that stained her face, the way she seems unable to fully meet her gaze. Lena’s eyes focus in on the rusty stains and soot stuck to Kara’s suit and a sick feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. She gasps, more like a squeak, startled again by Kara’s sudden movement. The Kryptonian’s eyes soften and she forces herself not move again, sensing Lena’s discomfort. 

“Are you scared…of _me?”_ Kara asks. The worry in her eyes catches Lena off guard.

“Should I be?” she asks back, finally focusing in on Kara’s intense gaze. She feels overpowered by the depth of those azure eyes, by the way the red flashes in them like an angry bolt of lightning. 

“ _No_ ,” Kara says firmly but also so softly that Lena nearly misses it. Kara speeds over to her, hesitantly stepping into her personal space when she senses no objection. The nanotech material of the suit recedes from her hand so that her bare skin can touch Lena’s face. “No. Lena—my love…you have nothing to fear from me. I will _never_ hurt you. Believe me.” She says each word so delicately as she caresses the brunette’s cheek with her knuckles, with a hand that had ripped metal apart just moments ago. It’s such a soft, loving touch, one that always quelled any doubt or anxiety in Lena’s heart. Not this time.

“I know and I do believe you.” Lena pushes Kara’s hand away, so unexpectedly that she’s actually able to do it. The blonde steps back in surprise, her eyebrows scrunched together as her concerned look fades seamlessly to solemn. 

“Then what’s your problem?”

Lena hits her with a hard stare. “You _lied_ to me, Kara.”

The azure sky in her eyes turns stormy at the accusation. “I told you that I would never lie to you again and I haven’t.” 

“Oh really?” Lena picks her phone off the floor and presents Kara with the video. The blonde follows along, barely able to keep back the gleeful smile. “Then what the fuck is this? You promised me that you wouldn’t fight them!” 

“They wanted to kill me!” Kara shouts with a red flash of a maniac threat in her steely eyes. It’s a sight that would chill anyone and Lena is not immune. She jumps in alarm at the irascibility, unable to remember a time when Kara had ever raised her voice at her. “And they would’ve killed dozens of innocent people just to do it, do you even _understand that?_ ”

Lena doesn’t remain unsettled for long. “You could’ve _left_. You _chose_ to stay and confront them because you _wanted to!_ ” The truth in her own words hits Lena hard. What is Kara becoming?

“Yes,” Kara says casually in complete, blunt honesty. “And I enjoyed every minute of it.” She regards Lena carefully with a penetrating gaze, her pupils so blown there’s hardly any blue. The brunette’s sped up heart rate, the fresh tears welling up in her eyes, it doesn’t go unnoticed by the Kryptonian. She doesn’t say anything, even though she wants to. Words evade her but her focus is still trained on Lena. 

_Always on Lena._

But Lena’s eyes have drifted to an invisible space over Kara’s shoulder, thoughts swirling in her mind like a sandstorm. It’s justified, protecting others is justified but not the way Kara has done it tonight, not with the callous grin she wore and the pleasure she thrived off of. 

“I…I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” A sob tears from her throat, rattling in her chest as the tears rimming her eyes spill over once more. Kara’s brow furrows for a fleeting moment at the display before her hard stare resumes. “The killing needs to stop. _Please Kara!_ We’re supposed to be bringing about _peace_ , not adding to the violence in this world.”

“The killing will stop and peace _will_ come,” Kara assures her flatly. Her thumb brushes against Lena’s cheek, wiping away the tears. “ _After_ I have brought this world under my control.” She sighs deeply when Lena’s tears refuse to cease, her gaze softens. “I wish there was another way but there isn’t. This is the way things are, Lena. These people only respond to violence, only care about their own pain. This world needs to be united under a singular purpose of mind and that cannot happen until those responsible for stoking the division are removed _permanently_.” Lena finds herself struggling to fight against the truth layered in Kara’s words. Is she right? Is the path to world peace truly stained in blood? 

Helplessly, she stares back at the love her life, at her friend, her favourite. Her hero. Desperately, she hunts for the compassion that she once found in Kara’s bright eyes but all she finds now is rage and the glint of a possessive, all-consuming form of love. Kara, who was supposed to be the best of this world, a beacon of hope. If deep down, this is what she believed needed to happen, maybe she’s right. Maybe this is the only way to truly save the world, to right all the injustices and achieve lasting peace. _No_. Lena shakes her head, attempting to banish the thought from her mind and resist admission to it. 

“There has to be another way,” she says hoarsely, shutting her eyes as another tear falls. 

“Do not cry for them, Lena,” Kara growls in disapproval. She cups Lena at the jaw roughly, forcing the CEO to open her eyes and confront her savage gaze. “They work for a corrupt system that has failed at every turn. A system that allows this planet to be poisoned with no effort to rectify it, content to watch it all _die_ because of their greed. They protect spineless politicians who turn their backs on the poor because it’s easier than actually doing something. These are the people who persecute aliens due to their own hatred and nothing more. They are _despicable_ , they are part of the problem and they got what they deserved. Soon, every last one of them will.” She pauses, trying to contain her displeasure at Lena’s undying distress. “You insisted that I protect the innocent and that is _exactly_ what I did.” Lena’s jaw clenches tightly (so tight she thought she heard a crack of the bone) at the smug satisfaction on Kara’s face and all the hurt she felt became replaced by her own anger instantly.

“And what about all those soldiers you _murdered?_ ” Lena demands, barely able to contain her vexation as she jerks back from Kara’s touch. “The ones that tried to run away? You hunted them down like animals!”

Kara’s smile morphs into a sneer she’s never seen before. Scarlet cracks pulse across her darkened face, adding to the terrifying yet breathtaking sight. “ _They_ are not innocent.” 

“They were just following orders!” 

“So were the Nazis. The Taliban. The Children of _Liberty_.” Kara’s wicked smile widens as she senses the tension in Lena’s body. “You think the US military is above reproach because of that star-spangled banner they wear?” She leans in, placing hands of steel on the vanity on either side of Lena, trapping her like a predator and its prey. Something animalistic in its ferocity erupts from Kara but Lena remains static. “Well I don’t give a _fuck_ who they are. I will kill _anyone_ who tries to kill me, _anyone_ who gets in my way.” Kara’s blatant words gut Lena sharply, twisting into her very soul. The powerful being before her is above deceit but for once, Lena would’ve preferred the comfort of lies, sweet words to lessen the blow. 

_Anything_ …to stave off the shame at the way Kara’s immense power unleashed a wetness between her aching thighs. She struggles against Kara to no avail, against feelings she’s now disturbed to have. Like an animal in heat, she writhes with suppressed desire visible in the flush of her skin. She didn’t want to feel this way, she shouldn’t feel this way. 

She needs to _leave_.

“Let me go,” Lena says tightly, her teeth grinding together so hard that she bites her tongue in the process. Kara smiles broadly at the defiance blazing in the forest of Lena’s eyes as she curls her fingers into the vanity top, cracking the white marble slowly. The Kryptonian doesn’t say it but Lena can see the word spelt out in the violent red flashes of her eyes.

 _Never_.

“Let me go,” she repeats wearily, her hands pressed against Kara’s chest in another futile attempt to shove her away. But like a mountain, Kara is unmovable, unperturbed as she chuckles at the dimming light of ambivalence. Lena’s desperation peaks as she fights to escape the unyielding grasp of lust, to escape the fact that she wants Kara badly. Urgently. She can’t hide it though, Kara can smell her sweet arousal in the air, feel it in the twitch of the muscles in her thighs and pelvis. Her hands move to Lena’s hips and without warning she props the shorter woman to sit on the vanity as if she weighed nothing. Normally, the show of strength would thrill Lena but now it just fuels her frustration.

“Don’t,” Lena whimpers, quivering in lustful anticipation at what she knows will come next. Kara slots herself between legs that part for her willingly as they ignore the synapses firing from Lena’s brain that screamed _no_. 

“You’re so hot when you’re mad, Lena.” The blonde’s lips graze along Lena’s throat slowly, provocatively. Lena bites down on her lower lip, a metallic taste on her tongue from the broken skin. She’s desperate to halt the automatic response to the sensation, the moans she failed to stifle. She doesn’t want Kara to know how good it feels, how irresistible she is. She doesn’t want have to admit to herself how much she’s _always_ hungered for power and control, the very things Kara now embodies. 

But Kara knows, she knows that Lena’s heart only skips like that for her. She sees the parts of Lena that the brunette has feared and repressed because she felt like she had to. Just as Kara did.

“I haven’t forgotten what we’re trying to accomplish,” Kara breathes against Lena’s tingling flesh. Lena can hardly resist the sudden urge she feels to pull the blonde impossibly closer. “I haven’t lost sight of it. A _better_ world, a _perfect_ world. One that will be fair and just. One where science will lead this primitive society forward.” Kara’s lips break away as she turns her attention to Lena’s conflicted gaze, to the lust behind the indignation in eyes darkened from a translucent jade to a striking emerald. “Don’t fight it my love, you want this just as much as I do. You’ve always wanted it. You know you deserve the world and I can give it to you. All you have to do is let go. Fall into the darkness with me.”

A cauldron of emotions threatens to boil over inside of Lena’s heart as she clings to the light with a loosening grip. It was as if Kara was holding up a mirror, one that reflects everything Lena has fought to deny, the shadows of a last name that trail her everywhere she goes. The truth that she has kept hidden even from herself. Even all those years ago — though tainted by Lex’s megalomania and selfishness — the idea of conquering the world stayed with her, appealed to her. 

She does want it, she has always craved it and for the first time, she’s not afraid of who she is deep down inside. Most of her life she spent as a pariah, carrying the Luthor name like a noose around her neck. The world judged her harshly for choices she never made and exiled her to a status of evil she never belonged to. She assumed the same prejudice would follow her when she moved to National City and for the most part it did, hovering over her like a pessimistic cloud. 

Until she met Kara, until she experienced for the first time what unconditional and unadulterated love is. Even now, under the unshakeable influence of a red rock, Kara’s feelings did not change. They will _not_ change. Lena doesn’t want it to change because she knows, despite the utter bedlam, she cannot _live_ without Kara. 

Kara’s cruel smile, the limitless power that radiates from her, the aura of danger. _The madness_. It’s intoxicating, Lena’s personal brand of heroin. 

A drug that tempts her to abandon her quest for morality. 

A drug that promises to liberate her from the tedium of trying to escape a dark legacy. 

A drug that will be the death of who she fought to be and the birth of who she feared she always was. 

So Lena reaches for it, catching Kara’s mouth in a fierce kiss. Her hands grip the hair at Kara’s nape, holding the blonde firmly in place for her possessive lips. Their tongues entwine, uncoordinated and messy and Lena’s soft lips bruise from Kara’s rough touch. One deft motion undoes the knot at Lena’s waist, opening her robe. Skillful lips travel down Lena’s jawline, trailing wet kisses from her throat to her breast, pinching the sensitive nipple with a teasing tug. A slur of curses escape Lena as Kara’s hot mouth brands the pale skin with angry red marks. Lena pulls back sharply, her back jostling the mirror behind her. 

“Take off your suit,” Lena orders in a low breath and within a nanosecond Kara’s completely nude. Bands of muscle sculpted under flawless tanned skin, chiseled abs leading to an envious V shape, an undeniable power flowing off of her in waves, a steady gaze piercing into every hidden crevice of Lena’s soul. 

She is power, darkness and beauty personified. 

Lena reaches down to open the uppermost drawer of the vanity, producing a large, veiny dildo and accompanying leather harness. Kara exhales deeply when she eyes the strap-on. She follows the silent command in Lena’s expression and puts it on quickly. Lena’s eyes rake across Kara’s perfectly toned body, narrowing in greedily at the silicone shaft that jutted out between Kara’s thighs. Damn, it looks so good there. She hops down from the counter and drops her robe off her shoulders to the floor. Porcelain skin, gentle curves, swollen pink lips, raven hair flowing in waves. Eyes that perfectly captured the pastures of Ireland, bold in their lust and depravity. 

She is beautiful, stunningly so, in every way possible.

“Take us to the shower.” With a swift but careful motion, Kara lifts Lena against her and enters the stall. The water turns on automatically with finely tuned pressure, spraying their heated bodies. A thin layer of steam quickly fills the enclosure, condensing upon contact with the much cooler glass door.

“You want it bad, don’t you _Ms. Luthor?_ ” Kara runs her hand along the length of the shaft, looking down at Lena with a glint of mischief and expectation. Lena’s entire body trembles uncontrollably in response.

“Yes,” she admits shamelessly as she leans against the soaked tiles and spreads her legs wide. The swollen bundle of nerves between her labia throbs achingly as she meets Kara’s ravenous gaze once more.

Kara steps forward and cups Lena’s cunt in her hand, slipping a finger between the slick folds. She smiles at the wetness that greets her. “How bad do you want it?”

“So _bad_ ,” Lena whines, nearly screams in sweet agony when Kara’s finger rubs teasingly over her clit. “Mmm—Kara! God, please Kara.” Begging for it is beneath a Luthor but Lena knows she would drop to her knees if Kara wanted her to. And Kara smiles more, knowing it too.

“What do you want me to do?” Kara asks as if she doesn’t know, drawing her hand away and licking Lena’s arousal slowly from her fingers. Lena reaches out, locking her hands behind the blonde’s neck, yanking her forward with ease. It’s Kara’s turn to tremble with desire under the sheer force of the sultry glint in Lena’s eyes. Lena tiptoes, leaning in until they’re sharing the same air.

“I want you to _fuck me_ ,” she says, low-pitched but intense. “I want you to give me _everything_.” With a soft growl, Kara immediately curls her fingers around Lena’s hips and positions the shaft into Lena’s dripping entrance. Air sucks through her teeth as the thickness of the shaft forces her walls to expand.

“I love how wet you get for me,” Kara whispers to her, smirking as she fills Lena to the brim on the first thrust. Lena loses what little composure she has, gasping in surprise and arousal when the tip reaches her g-spot. Kara lifts her by the back of her thighs and she wraps her legs around the blonde’s waist eagerly. Somehow, gravity guides the shaft even further in as Kara’s unyielding grip moves to Lena’s ass, her fingers kneading the tender flesh mercilessly.

“ _Oh God. Fuck_.” Lena pants with each painfully exquisite pump against her slick walls. Her cunt clenches as the shaft travels up and down forcefully, expelling every ounce of resistance left in her and infecting her with Kara’s madness, like syringe filled with a toxin. The muscles that ripple across Kara’s shoulder blades flex under the drag of Lena’s French tip nails digging hard into the invulnerable skin. Even though Lena can’t claw into her, just the feel of it alone is enough to make Kara moan wildly. Kara’s insatiable lips suck at the pulse on Lena’s throat. Then Kara bites down, the pain adding to the pleasure as Lena’s hips move subconsciously with every thrust. She grinds down hard on the stiff member, taking every inch even if it hurts.

“That’s right baby, take it. You’re so good. You’re so _beautiful_.” Without fully realizing it, Lena guides Kara’s hand up her torso, between the dip of her swollen breasts, stopping at her throat. Lena can taste the desire in the air as the blonde’s heavy breath falls on her face. She runs a finger over the hand, granting the permission Kara seeks with her dark gaze. Kara’s fingers wrap around Lena’s throat and squeeze tightly, awakening the masochism in her. A headiness grips Lena as the circulation of blood slows and her vision blurs but the ecstasy never dulled. Just knowing that her life could be over in a fraction of a second if Kara lost control is almost enough to send her over the edge.

It’s _electrifying_ , the power of life and death consuming her wholly. 

_She can finally have it all._

“Come for me.” Lena follows the command immediately, a wave of pure unabashed euphoria crashes over her, washing away all reservations. One orgasm spills into another as Kara hammers into her relentlessly, to the point of extremity. Lena arches her back against the wall, breathless from the lack of oxygen but still hungry for more. 

And Kara gives it to her generously. “You’re _mine_ , Lena. And _only mine_.” Lena chants Kara’s name as if entranced, as if it’s the only word she knows. Every one of her senses, every thought, every inch of space becomes dominated by the Kryptonian god fucking her hard. Every wave of pleasure rises and falls with Kara’s name on the tip of her tongue.

“ _Kara_ ,” she cries out as she climaxes once more. Her legs unwrap from Kara’s waist as she feels her strength leaving her. The blonde pulls out, trembling under the overwhelming strength of her own orgasm. She captivates Lena with the intensity of her gaze, her feral movements, her unchecked power that only seems to grow. A crimson fire dances across the midnight lake of Kara’s eyes, drowning and burning Lena at the same time. The grip around Lena’s neck releases as strong arms move to catch her when her knees give out. Kara presses a kiss to Lena’s hairline as she holds her close, almost too tightly. 

“Don’t leave me, Lena,” Kara says quietly, blurring the line between a plea and a warning. “Because there is _nothing_ I won’t do to bring you back to me.” It’s worse than a threat, it’s a promise but Lena barely registers it, she’s too consumed by the absolute bliss of being worshipped by a god. The hurt and vexation from earlier feels like a distant memory as she looks up to meet the blonde’s rage filled eyes and wonders. 

_What are you doing to me, Kara?_

The shame at the truth that she wanted nothing more than to spread her legs to be claimed by Kara is gone, expunged by the blonde’s intoxicating hold over her. All that remains now is Lena’s own addiction to Kara’s promise of the world in the palm of her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you think. I really appreciate your thoughts and feedback. Stay safe guys.


	9. Para bellum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choose a side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments, kudos and for taking the time to read this. Enjoy!  
> *the title is taken from John Wick Chapter 3 and means ‘prepare for war’ in Latin.

Alex barrels through the door, flashing her disguised DEO badge with the confidence a suspended agent should not have. She finds him standing there, staring absentmindedly out of the window and at a city brimming with chaos and unrest. Even with his back turned, she can tell little has changed. His stance is still arrogant, his spine rigid, his Hugo Boss trousers tighter than they should be. 

“Agent Danvers,” he says lifelessly, turning around and swirling a glass in hand. The ice clinks together noisily in the silence. “What a…surprise.” 

“You don’t sound surprised,” Alex says as she closes the door behind her. 

“I am a little, that it took you this long to come knocking on my door.” He chugs nearly all the contents of his glass, wincing as the alcohol burns his throat. 

“So I don’t have to tell you why I’m here then,” she scoffs, folding her arms across her chest. She wasn’t in the mood for the Jedi mind tricks Max was so fond of. Shockingly, he isn’t either. He walks around to the front of his desk and leans against it, half-sitting on the heavy mahogany frame. 

“No.” He peers at her through the dim yellow lights of his office, his face indiscernible. “But I can’t help you.”

“How do I know that you’re not behind all of this?” 

“I guess you don’t,” he remarks facetiously, grinning from ear to ear as he finishes off the drink.

She glares, her cheeks flush angrily. “This isn’t a fucking game, Max.” 

He casts her a dark look and slowly removes the glass from his chapped lips, seeming somewhat offended. “I know that. I _have_ been watching the news. I saw her little speech. Good stuff.” He gives her a thumbs-up in mock approval which only adds to Alex’s annoyance with his glib attitude. She had watched the speech on her phone after riding aimlessly around the city. It was a bold move but a purposeful one, showing a transparency that the government often did not. And it was winning people over. 

Max goes on, “Do you really think that I’d be stupid enough to make red kryptonite again after what happened last time?” He chuckles. “Although —compared to this —she was a fucking saint.” 

Alex feels inclined to agree but refuses to. “What about someone else? Could anyone have stolen the formula from you or something?” 

Max rolls his eyes and taps a finger to his temple arrogantly. “The formula is right here and, as you may recall, I don’t share anything.” 

“Can you make another antidote?” The hope is there, clear as day in her eyes, her voice so weak and exhausted.

“No. Not without a sample of the synthetic k and even if I could, it’s probably too late. The red k has been in her system —.”

“Too long now,” Alex interjects, sniffling as she straightens her stance. All hope drains from her brown orbs, leaving nothing more than a desolate wasteland. “I know.” 

“I truly am sorry, Agent Danvers,” Max says, somewhat sincerely. “But, I do have other engagements.” He saunters back to his desk, picks up a business card and offers it to her. “Please feel free to call first next time.” She actually snatches it from between his two fingers, surprising them both. 

“Let’s hope there is no next time.” Max smiles thinly at her words, his eyes following her out of the room with a wistfulness she does not see. Once she’s out of earshot, he turns his attention to the door on the other side of the room when it creaks open. It doesn’t stop him from continuing back to his desk, even as his unwelcome guest makes herself comfortable in one of the chairs. She laps a slender leg over the other and flips back a heavy curtain of hair. Dark rims hide her eyes but Max can tell they’re smiling along with the rest of her face. 

“She’s smart that one.” He helps himself to another glass, pouring more of the amber liquid than he normally would. “She’ll figure out what your psycho boss is planning.”

The woman shrugs indifferently. “So? The wheels are already set in motion.”

“Then why are you here? Besides ruining the ambiance.”

“Tying up loose ends,” she replies nonchalantly as she produces a gun equipped with a silencer at the end of the barrel. He doesn’t even recoil at the sight of the Glock, his heart doesn’t race any faster. He just takes another swing, smacking his lips together and meeting her perplexed gaze head on. “What? You’re not even going to beg for your pathetic life?” 

“And give you the satisfaction?” He kisses his teeth loudly and pops up his middle finger. “ _Fuck. You_.” A sweet smile spreads across her face as she lifts the gun and squeezes the trigger. The bullet tunnels into Max’s skull, tearing through his brain and dissolving as it exits. He falls backwards onto the carpeted floor, his blood and other bodily fluids seeping into the material, staining it forever. 

* * *

An angry determination outweighs the conflict and doubts, driving him forward. It’s rather clever, though somewhat ironic, that the Children of Liberty would be using Shelley Island as their base of operations. He enters a room on the far north-side of the shuttered building. In the middle, there’s several aliens confined in a large cage, its iron bars thick and imposing. A pang of guilt hits James in the chest as he takes in their terrified faces. Some of them look so young. A man turns around when he shuffles forward to protest, his face hidden behind an infamous gold plated mask. 

“Mr. Olsen,” the man says in a gravelly voice. He motions the others in the room to leave before releasing the clasp at the back of his head and removing the steel mask in what feels like slow motion. The shock factor is still there even though the initial reveal was days ago when James first came to the island, a visit he kept secret. “I knew you’d be back.” 

“Did you?” James says, unamused by Ben’s confidence. 

“Of course. You could’ve told your friends and the police about me but you haven’t. That says a lot.” James grits his teeth together angrily, hating that Ben is absolutely right. 

He doesn’t acknowledge it though as his eyes drift over to the cage, to the alien girl staring at him in desperation. “What’s going on?” 

Ben looks over his shoulder with a condescending sneer. “Rounded up a few aliens caught protesting illegally in the streets. Can’t have that.”

“Not all of them are bad, you know. Not all of them deserve to be locked up like criminals,” James says, convincing not even himself.

“Like Supergirl?” Ben steps towards James, sizing up the taller man with his broad chest puffed out for show. “I bet you thought she was the _definition_ of goodness and virtue. That she was destined to save the world, that she’s one of the good ones because she looks so much like us. But she is _not_. She’s declared war on us.” He pulls a remote from his pocket and turns on an LCD screen. James has already heard Kara’s seditious words but he finds himself diving into it as if it’s the first time. There’s something almost hypnotic about it, a power so great it’s nearly tangible. Now more than ever, he needed to stop her.

“So you see, Mr. Olsen,” Ben continues once the news clip ends. “ _We_ are the only ones standing between humanity and total annihilation. It’s up to us to show the people of this great nation who their heroes really are and that can start with you.” He wants to but he can’t bring himself to refute any of Ben’s words, or offer up a defence of red kryptonite for Supergirl’s destructive behaviour. It was hard living in a world with powerful beings capable of killing you with a single thought or a simple flick of the wrist. Even harder feeling as insignificant as an ant, like just another cog in the machine. There would be no pomp and circumstance for them, no hero worship or glass-breaking applause.

He loathes to admit it but he relates to the frustrations and fears of Children of Liberty. Why else would he refuse to denounce them? Why else would he go to _Lex fucking Luthor_ for help? Why else would he be here, amongst the only people who saw the threat and were prepared to treat it as such? 

He _knows_ why. So he asks tentatively, “How?” 

Ben’s thin lips curl up into his version of a smile as he presents James with a vial. A purplish, worm-like creature wiggles around inside. “We level the playing field.”

* * *

Power, unbridled and absolute, courses through her veins as the sun rays replenish every cell in her body. It’s an exhilarating sensation, one that seems to increase as the days go by. Basking under the golden hue of the sunrise in Lena’s balcony offers a different view now than it has all the other times she’s stood here. The flames of revolution are ignited and it rages on in the streets below like an inextinguishable wildfire. Aliens are no longer fearful, no longer hiding who they are and they are ready and willing to carry out her every command. Soon, humans would know their place in this world and accept the simple fact that they are not in control. This planet no longer belongs to them and neither did any of their lives. She could do with them as she saw fit. 

So, it should come as no surprise to anyone that she had claimed the only human on this feeble planet worthy of her love and loyalty. A human who is brilliant and beautiful beyond measure, who deserves everything she has to give. She turns, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips when she hears Lena stirring from sleep. Lena is adorable in the mornings, raven hair all mussed, stretching lazily like a cat. Her fingers run over the spot where sharp Kryptonian teeth sank into her neck, like an animal marking its territory. It brings to mind the memory of rapacious hands all over her body, the unrelenting thrusts that threatened to split her in half, the husky and erotic whispers of praise carrying her to release. 

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and squints her eyes, searching through the haze of sleep for Kara. Once she spots her through the ceiling-to-floor windows, she swings her legs over the bed. She can barely even do it. Her entire body feels boneless, no doubt the result of being thoroughly fucked last night. Having blacked out towards the end, she vaguely recalls Kara carrying her to the bed. She slides the balcony door open and returns Kara’s warm smile. 

"Come here.” Lena follows the gentle request and melts at the warmth that envelops her. Kara sighs contentedly into Lena’s hair, tightening her hold just the right amount. It’s truly amazing to Kara how soft Lena is, how good it feels to have her pressed into her solid body. “How are you this morning?” 

“I’m fine,” she murmurs in reassurance as she nuzzles Kara’s neck. “What about you? I was worried when I saw all that kryptonite.” 

“Don’t be.” Kara pulls back slightly so she can stare into Lena’s worried eyes. The love is present amongst the rage, shining like a lone star in a midnight sky. “ _You_ protected me with that suit. And now.” She turns her attention to the cityscape behind them. “National City is ours.” Lena follows her manic gaze and takes in the view with a much deeper understanding. “Nothing can stop us.” The opposition that still lingered in the streets, they were of little consequence. Kara and her newly acquired army had stomped out the military forces that had foolishly tried to quell them, razing the pop-up base to the ground with the sun’s unforgiving inferno. But this is just the beginning. Now that they had the support and allegiance of the aliens in National City, it was time to extend that reach globally. 

“I’ll have Hope monitor the city’s borders,” Lena says, looking directly at Kara again. “I anticipate the military will be back to exercise their grievances at their humiliating defeat.” 

“Let them,” Kara chuckles, perfectly at ease. “It won’t stop us from fulfilling our destiny. We’re going to save the world, just as we have before.” Lena can’t stop herself from smiling, despite the dark undertones in Kara’s words. Kara was always the only one who openly acknowledged the undeniable fact (that was still somehow constantly challenged) that _Lena Luthor_ has been a saviour of the world many times over. A world that will soon be gifted to her. 

She slowly loses herself in the depth of those dark eyes, filled with the allure of immorality. Why follow the rules when you’re going to rewrite them anyway? She inches forward and grabs a fistful of golden hair just above Kara’s nape, angling Kara’s head downwards. Then she tip toes, her forehead resting against Kara’s, locked in a moment of silent recognition. 

It’s Kara and Lena against the world, as unstoppable as nature, as inevitable as the sunrise. 

_And their love will outlast eternity_. 

Lena sweeps her tongue along the bow in Kara’s upper lip, a smile blooming on her face in satisfaction at the moan that rumbles from Kara. The Kryptonian parts her lips obediently, allowing Lena to lap into her mouth with vigour. She matches Lena’s movements, entwining their tongues in a languid dance of passion and desire. Lena moans into it, surrendering to a hedonistic power she craves more than anything. Strong hands grasp at Lena’s hips, moulding into the marvellous curves, pulling her as close as possible. The brunette lets out a discontented whine, hardly able to stand the barrier of her thin, skimpy nightdress against Kara’s skin tight tank top and boxers. She needs to feel it, the warmth of marble skin pressed against hers, the power that courses beneath it with every pulsing reveal of red. Sensing Lena’s frustration, Kara rips the satin garment off of her with a slight tug, leaving her exposed and unashamed by it. She makes quick work of her own clothes and smirks knowingly at the sight before her.

Lena ghosts a hand along Kara’s toned bicep, raising the hair on the back of her neck. “See something you like, darling?” Her voice is deep and sensuous, her lustful eyes hidden behind dark lashes. 

Kara leans in close, her voice drops to a lower octave. “Yes.” Her tongue swirls soothingly over the bite mark, loving how much evidence of her touch litters Lena’s body. Every inch belongs to her. “Very much.”

Lena turns her head, her teeth nipping at Kara’s ear without restraint. “I can tell.” She snakes a hand down between Kara’s thighs and presses the pulsating heat, causing the blonde to shudder at the touch. She licks the shell of Kara’s ear, her tongue grazing between the grooves slowly as she continues with a purr, “I can always tell you know.” She backs up a stunned Kryptonian until the back of her calves collide noisily with the edge of the lounge chair in the corner. Without a fuss, Kara allows Lena to push her down roughly until she lied there, soaking wet and wonderfully naked. She looks up at the brunette with smouldering gaze as Lena pulls her hair over one shoulder, exposing the love bite purposefully. 

“That’s why you like to mark me, isn’t it? You want the world to know how much you you want me.” Lena climbs top of Kara with a deliberate slowness, straddling her between the tight clamp of her legs. Her nails drag along Kara’s chiseled abs with enough pressure to severely scratch any human, deeply aroused by every contour and ridge. 

She leans down and plants hard, suckling kisses up Kara’s sternum, taking the time to twist her tongue around each erect nipple liberally. The blonde growls fiercely, barely able to tolerate the teasing motion. It’s not long before Kara’s strong hands are guiding Lena’s lips to hers. She crashes into her, needy and urgent, all teeth and tongue, panting heavily when when Lena bites down hard on her lower lip and stretches it seductively. 

“Lena,” Kara groans softly into the kiss when the brunette unexpectedly slips two fingers into her with an assertive thrust. She presses her nails into Lena’s ass in response, leaving behind a pattern of red crescent shapes as she pulls her closer.

“You’re so tight,” Lena whispers in wonder as she drives her fingers deep and rough between the slick folds. Kara’s walls spasm violently against the supple fingers, pushing her closer to release with every pump. “I can feel you all around me. You feel amazing Kara.” She rolls her hips enthusiastically onto Lena’s hand, mesmerized by the smooth rhythm travelling further and further into her. It’s incredible to Lena, the way this gorgeous otherworldly being could be reduced to a writhing, sputtering mess beneath her. 

“Don’t stop,” she begs needlessly, Lena has no intention to. She curls her fingers, pounding them in and out of Kara’s dripping cave without mercy, relishing each cry of her name. Nothing breaks them out of their bubble of debauchery, not even the abrupt descent when the rocky chair legs split like twigs beneath them. When Lena’s thumb rolls against Kara’s neglected clit, the blonde folds uncontrollably to a powerful orgasm. An exhausted Lena collapses on top of Kara’s heaving chest, retracting her fingers, surprised to find her entire hand completely drenched. Unable to resist the urge, she licks the delicious arousal dripping down the length of her hand, savouring the salty taste of true power. 

“Oh Lena,” Kara whispers breathlessly, tears glistening in her eyes from the sheer beauty of Lena making her come hard and fast. “I love you so much.” There’s a reverence in her low voice, one that goes beyond anything this planet could ever conceive. It’s almost mystical, like an out of body experience, the knowledge that Lena will always choose her.

Lena presses a tender kiss to Kara collarbone, her ear pressed just above the lulling strum of Kara’s heart. “I love you too. More than anything.” As they lay there in a glorious afterglow, a message appears on the communicator seamlessly built into Kara’s suit.

**[Nia Nal 6:35am] I know where the Children of Liberty are hiding.**

* * *

“ **What?!** ” The entire room falls to a pin-drop silence at the president’s outburst. His eyes scan the room, looking for signs that anyone else agrees that what was just said was _insane_ but all he’s greeted with are vacant stares. 

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Lex asks as he sips his Earl Grey without a single care in the world. 

“No! What you’re suggesting we do is…abominable! It’s _genocide_.” That last word leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. 

“We’re not talking about another _Holocaust_. Come now, Mr. President. You don’t even give a rat’s ass about those Mexican immigrants caged at the border. No need to pretend you care about these extraterrestrial freeloaders. This is simply an extermination, the natural course of action one takes to deal with an infestation of unwanted vermin.” Baker looks across the Oval at Lillian Luthor as if expecting the leader of C.A.D.M.U.S to offer a different view. She just sat there, orange pekoe in hand, poised and as cold as the arctic. 

“This is madness.” 

“No. This is _war_.” Lex gives him a smile, baring too many teeth to be anything other than psychotic. “Do you know why the Pharaoh started killing all the firstborn Hebrew sons in the Old Testament? It’s because he didn’t want their numbers to become too great. Because he knew that once they did, they would slaughter them all and take over their land. Humanity is facing that same imminent threat. Presidents before you have extended the hand of friendship when they should’ve been cutting down the numbers. Luckily, I’m here to _fix_ their mistakes.”

“Won’t that just piss her off?” Baker demands with a growl. “Look at what happened last night! All of those soldiers, good Americans, _dead_.” He swallows thickly at the spine-chilling images permanently seared into his brain. “Perhaps there’s still time to work out a truce or alliance or some sort of —.” The contact of Lex’s backhand echoes throughout the room. The three Secret Service agents, General Lane, his Chief of Staff, none of them even flinch at the sight. Baker’s too appalled to question why that is, placing a hand over his throbbing cheek. 

“ _Truce? Alliance?_ Have you not been paying attention? The Kryptonian has emboldened them, taken over National City and the insurrection won’t stop there. They have no need for us humans. They want to _take_ our planet from us and they will eradicate us to do it.” Lex smiles again, somehow appearing even more deranged. “Don’t be mistaken here, _John_. You are the president in name alone. A damn figurehead. “

Baker’s eyes widen in despair. “What do you mean?”

Lex’s eyes gleam, he loved few things more than the opportunity to regale people with his plans. “God, politics really is for idiots. Didn’t you find it all just a little too easy? Marsden’s cover is blown and suddenly you’re the 45th. I mean really, you haven’t stopped to think about it even once?” 

The white haired man pales as he quickly begins to realize exactly what Lex is implying. “You sent those terrorists after Olivia.” 

“Yes,” Lex scoffs with an eye roll of derision. “Of course I did.”

“But why?”

“ _Why?_ Because the idiots in charge have forced my hand. The imbeciles before you let Kryptonian war criminals, uncivilized Daxamites and rampaging Worldkillers trample over our way of life by continuing to allow these alien invaders to come here and do whatever the fuck they want. It was becoming clear that Washington needed an even bigger motivator, an enemy that will make you all finally realize that there is no such thing as a _good_ alien.” The dots connect themselves in Baker’s mind, overwhelming him with facts that he never saw because he was too blinded by the pursuit of power. He stumbles back, his breath hitches in his chest, his knees threaten to buckle under the weight of the truth. 

“You...,” he says shakily, fear mixed with outrage in his beady, incredulous eyes. “You turned Supergirl into a monster. Just convince the world that you were right?”

“ _I am right!_ ” Lex roars with his teeth bared like an agitated beast, specks of spit hitting Baker in the face. “I am showing you the Kryptonian’s true nature!”

“You’re deplorable,” Baker says disparagingly before turning to his staff. “Take this lunatic back to Stryker’s.” No one makes a move. “Did you not hear me?” His furious eyes fall on each of them, searching for some sign of compliance.

Lex laughs mockingly. “Oh they heard you.”

“This is treason!” He moves to pick up the phone on his desk but stops when General Lane cocks a gun. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m sorry Mr. President,” the general says. “But this is what needs to happen in order to save this planet. So I _strongly_ advise that you cooperate with Mr. Luthor if you want to live.” Baker’s hands ball into fists of white-hot fury as he glares across a room full of Judases. His thirst for power made him the ideal, unwitting pawn in an insidious plot. There’s no way out now, no way of knowing how deep this conspiracy lies. 

White-knuckled and red-faced, he exhales a shaky breath and reluctantly submits to the will of a madman. 

* * *

Winn’s eyes are glued to the monitor in front of him as he sits alone in J’onn’s office. The government had publicly released some of the live feed of Kara’s assault on the military. It’s chilling to watch, especially for Winn who knows that Kara used little effort to decimate what was supposedly the strongest armed force in the world. The graphic content warning that flashes in the upper right hand corner doesn’t seem accurate enough. Still, something about Kara’s wild anger and glowing eyes makes Winn’s crotch tighten. He stares down, mortified at the tent pitched in his pants, groaning as the painful erection rubs against the seam. _Christ_.

He lets out a girlish scream when someone pounds loudly on the door. _Shit!_ He swallows hard when the pounding resumes but doesn’t make any effort to so much as breathe until he hears a familiar voice. 

“It’s me, guys.” Winn bounds across the room, stopping when he remembers his cock is standing at full attention. He takes off his cardigan and ties it around his waist like an apron. 

“Oh Alex. Thank God.” He ushers her into the office quickly, locking the door behind them. “Where were you?”

“I went to Lord Technologies. I had to know if Max was behind this somehow or if he could help us. That was a bust.” She stops and points at his face. “What the hell happened to you?”

“What?” He touches his jaw and gets an instant reminder of what caused the ugly bruise. He sits back down at the table and sighs. “Oh, James and I had a... disagreement. Of sorts.” He turns his attention back to this keyboard and continues clacking away, unwilling to go any further.

Alex still asks, “About what?”

“Kara.”

She nods in understanding. “Where is he anyway? And J’onn?” 

“J’onn left a note, says he had something to do and he’ll be back. James…I have no idea. He took off last night.” Winn doesn’t appear particularly bothered by his absence and honestly neither is Alex. “What about Maggie?” he asks stiltedly. 

Her spine stiffens. “I don’t know and I don’t really care right now. We have bigger things to worry about.” Her tired eyes narrowing at the military feed playing on a loop. She picks up Winn’s coffee and groans disgustedly at the wave of sweetness that hits her tongue. “God.” She still takes another sip, desperate for the caffeine, only pausing when she notices something she hasn’t seen before. “Wait a minute. This is different from the clip on the news.” 

Winn scratches the back of his head. “Yea I...I might have hacked into the Pentagon to get the unedited file.” The version on the news had conveniently left out what happened before Kara attacks, all the threats to the aliens on the streets, all the brandished guns cocked and indiscriminately aimed.

“Those bastards were going to kill civilians just to get to her.” It’s not a justification for her actions in Alex’s eyes but she does feel some relief knowing that Kara wasn’t rampaging just for the sake of it like she did last time. 

“They’re trying to make her the bad guy,” Winn says darkly, a shade Alex has never seen on him before. He swirls around in his chair and looks up at her hardened gaze. Her jaw is set so tightly he can see the erratic twitch of the muscle. “I don’t think I can just sit here and let that happen.” 

“What are you saying?” 

“You know what I’m saying Alex.” Of course she does, she knew this was coming. What really startles her is that she can’t seem to decide. Kara should be the obvious choice but standing with her would mean accepting the monster she had become and the dictator she aspires to be. Alex _cannot_ do that, will _not_ do that. But standing with a US government so full of corruption and hell-bent on killing the person she loves with all her heart, that wasn’t an option either. She doesn’t need to ask Winn which side of the line he’s standing on. The bruise James branded him with was as telling as an _I voted_ sticker. 

“Fuck.” She squirms uncomfortably, it’s suddenly too hot. She hauls off her worn leather jacket and tosses it onto the table. Winn ducks down and grabs the card that falls out of the pocket. It’s nothing more than it appears to be at first glance until the random assortment of characters scattered around the border catches his eye.

“What’s this?” 

“A business card from Lord.” 

He holds it up, inspecting carefully. His eyes widen in realization and he lurches forward. The unanticipated motion nearly causes Alex to drop the cup. “Alex...this isn’t a business card.” Her brow raises in confusion as Winn’s fingers race along his keyboard like his life depended on it. 

“What is it then?” she asks, unsure what to make of his hysterical reaction.

“It’s an I.P address for a remote server.” Alex presses her hands against the solid oak table, leaning forward with her eyes locked on the screen. Once Winn accesses the server through what Alex assumes is tech magic, a single folder appears named _Agent Danvers_. Several files inside decrypt quickly and one video automatically plays. The room feels as though it’s moving away, leaving Alex and Winn behind in a daze.

They gasp in unison. “Oh my God.”


	10. Only Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara rescues the aliens on Shelley Island. Lena has an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was difficult to write, action scenes are hard. Hopefully it doesn’t suck. 
> 
> *lots of graphic scenes of violence

Kara smashes through the roof of their hideout on Shelley Island, making no effort to control her landing. The concrete splits with a resounding crack beneath her boots. The scene that greets her is jarring, straight of of a horror film. Even though Nia had shared this from her dream, nothing could’ve prepared Kara for it. Aliens are shackled against damp walls, covered in gruesome welts and left to hang lifelessly at their wrists. Others are huddled in cages like circus freaks, demeaned and tortured by incorrigible humans. But it’s the bodies reduced to husks, completely drained of life and essence, that ignites the burning rage inside of her. 

“I’m looking for Agent Liberty,” she announces, making her presence known by the powerful boom in her voice. It travels across the open space, striking fear in the hearts of each xenophobe present. It’s a mix bag of extremists, mostly white men, in paramilitary uniforms proudly donning the American flag as if it’s a license to persecute aliens. Her anger flares even more when they foolishly cock their ineffective guns, glaring at her with a strong desire to kill. Even now, they still have the audacity to think they are in control, that they are superior to her. To a _god_.

 _Idiots_. 

“Well?” she growls impatiently, the edges of her eyes itching and burning as they always did when a solar charge was building. She’s ready to set them all ablaze. “Which one of you fools is it?” 

One man brazenly steps forward, appearing confident but his heart beat and trembling gun betray him. “We are all Agent Liberty! You better leave while you still can, filthy _roach_.” He hawks dramatically and spits out a thick phlegm. 

“Yea!” One man shouts in agreement. 

“You traitorous roach!” Another echoes. Hmm, they’ve all clearly drank the Kool-Aid. Kara quickly scans their moronic faces and concludes that none of them are the infamous cult leader she’s after. Hardly a surprise. Agent Liberty’s true power, as Lena had pointed out, is his anonymity. He is the faceless emperor sitting on a throne of human supremacy, sending out his blind followers to the frontlines with nothing but false notions and unjustified hate. 

“ _Traitorous?_ ” she chuckles, a low and ominous sound, the kind that warns animals when a storm is coming. “I was never loyal to you.” The first man to speak fires off a round in alarm when she takes a step forward. She cocks her head to one side in exasperation as the bullets deform against her invulnerable body and fall at her feet like heavy raindrops. 

_Really?_

“No,” he gasps, eyes widened in disbelief at the clear indication that she still has her powers, despite the dampeners set throughout the island. In all their posturing and ignorance, they never stopped to consider the sheer brilliance behind the suit’s design. The man shrinks away like a scared rabbit when she suddenly appears in front of him, fearful of the dangerous proximity. A soul-shattering hopelessness grips tightly around his soul but he does not dare search for mercy. He knows he will not find it. 

_Not from her_.

“Oof!” A copious amount of blood expels from his mouth like a volcanic eruption when her fist of steel slams into his chest with the force of a speeding semi-truck. He flies through the crowd behind him like ammunition shot from a cannon, landing unceremoniously several feet away. His eyes are bloodshot and bugling from their sockets as he tries but fails to breathe. The impact is too great for his heart to bear and the delicate mass of muscle bursts inside his rib cage like popped balloon, flooding his lungs, drowning him from the inside, slow and deliciously painful. 

Her dark eyes gleam with cruel amusement at the utter dread and panic spreading across their face as they quickly begin to realize that there is no escape from her deadly form of justice. There will be no trial, no judge or jury, only a swift execution. That doesn’t stop some of them trying as the ones too stupid to be afraid empty their magazines in a panicked frenzy, praying for salvation but only death will come. And she will be the one to deliver it, wiping this radical group from the face of the earth like a god of brutal vengeance. 

_They are the ones that don’t belong here_. 

She pulls out the depleted chamber of one man’s Desert Eagle and rams it forcefully down his throat, cracking his trachea beyond repair. Necks snap between her fingers like stale breadsticks, bodies crash into the solid concrete walls with a sickening thud and crumple on top of each other like dirty piles of laundry. 

One burly man, easily twice her size, launches his fist forward with all the strength he can muster. She merely catches it in her hand, grinding the bones into dust before tearing the entire arm completely off. The man’s agonized scream brings a sinister smile of satisfaction to her lips as blood gushes from the severed ball joint. Others try their luck as well, too emboldened by their false sense of dominance and a maddening drive to eliminate her to even attempt running away. They will not concede to the fact that humanity’s time is _over_.

When she grows tired of these games, she lifts off into the air and unleashes the scorching power of Rao, reducing every human present to ash with a single blast. They should be grateful for their swift deaths, it’s more than they deserve. She touches back down gracefully and chuckles darkly at the limp blood-soaked bodies lining the ground, the perfect picture of a righteous slaughter. She breaks the restraints on the aliens still alive, reaching out to catch a woman when her knees give out. 

“Thank you,” the Roltikkon says hoarsely. She’s severely dehydrated, barely able to keep her eyes open. The wounds from the torment she endured are unable to heal correctly, zapping what little energy she has. “But there are…there are more of us.” 

Kara follows her tired gaze and nods. “I will get them out.” She hands the woman off to another alien before making her way over. 

A young man stands just on the other side of that door, completely petrified as he listens to the bloodcurdling cries of his comrades. They grates against his eardrum like nails on a chalkboard. A terrified yelp escapes him when he hears her approaching, each step setting off a small quake in the earth beneath his feet. Kara kicks the door clean off its hinges and saunters inside, leaving a trail of bloodied footsteps. The bullets rattle in the chamber of his revolver from the unsteadiness in his grip. His breath comes in and out of his aching lungs in quick succession, the cold touch of terror crawls down his spine like the drag of an ice cube. Slowly, his fingers release and the gun falls to the ground with a clatter. 

“Please… _please_ don’t kill me,” he rasps through the sob gathered in his throat as it chokes him. He feels almost faint but does not dare look away from the Kryptonian predator eyeing him viciously. It’s breathtaking in a lethal way, the crimson glow that slithers beneath her sun-kissed skin, the wicked grin that etches across her face, the glint of childish delight centred in her dark gaze. He can’t help but gape at her terrifying visage of death and destruction.

Kara raises an eyebrow at him mockingly. “Why shouldn’t I?” Before he can take his next breath, she closes the distance and curls her fingers around his neck, her thumb crushing his Adam’s Apple gradually. “Don’t you deserve to die like the rest of them?”

“Yes,” he wheezes, tears streaming down his beet red face. “I deserve it.” The guilt gnawed at him every day but he chose to ignore it, feeding himself the lie that this was all for the sake of his little brother who died tragically during the Daxamite invasion. Truthfully, it was all for him, a way to feel empowered and important, fighting for a cause that appeared noble on paper. “But I…I know…things.”

She scoffs but decides to entertain him a little. “Like what?”

“I-I-I know what Agent Liberty is planning,” he says frantically. “He…he wants to give humans powers so we can fight back against aliens. He…he had this…worm…creature and he put it this guy and after that….” He swallows thickly, averting his gaze for a moment as if in genuine shame. Kara doesn’t need him to finish, she’s all too familiar with that particular parasite. He looks at her again, clearly searching for some indication that she agrees his information is worth his life. 

_It’s not_.

“No! No wait! Please, Superg—.” His pathetic pleas are cut short when Kara’s heat vision pierces through his skull like a knife through warm butter, searing his brain. 

“Oops.” With an eye roll of disdain, she tosses his worthless carcass aside and rushes over to the cage to free the remaining aliens. She revels in their praise for a moment, turning her head slightly when she hears a familiar sound. 

_Lena_.

* * *

Lena paces around the first row of androids in her private lab, inspecting them like a drill sergeant would their new cadets. They’re made with Nth metal plated armour, stained in the dark red and blue colours of the House of El, equipped with sophisticated weaponry and defence mechanisms that can only be activated by her and Kara. The smooth, lustre finish is flawless, the design impeccable. 

They’re perfect, the result of Lena’s brilliance and the technology collecting dust in the Fortress of Solitude. Kara was eager to provide Lena with access, surprising the CEO with her own knowledge. Lena was saddened to learn how the blonde was forced to strive for average when she arrived on earth, effectively denying the part of herself fascinated by science and advancement for so long. The product standing before her now is just a taste of the changes they will bring that will make earth the envy of the galaxy.

“Dr. Vose, have your team proceed with the second wave of production,” Lena says, eyes glued to the data on her tablet. 

“Yes Ms. Luthor,” the man replies, bowing his head a little before leaving. He was one of many L-Corp employees who had pledged their allegiance to the new world order after Lena’s announcement of the company’s modified direction. After fleeing a doomed planet, he arrived on earth where he struggled to find work despite his expertise in engineering. He had refused to hide his tusks just to make humans feel better about themselves. When Lena assisted Supergirl in his rescue from C.A.D.M.U.S years ago and learned of his background, she offered him a job, completely unfazed by his alien heritage. In fact, many of her employees were aliens, in open defiance of the pushback she got from investors and board members. She didn’t see why it mattered.

A video chat pops up on her screen. “Lena!” Sam exclaims as soon as the call is answered. “I’ve got news! The acquisition of Obsidian North has been finalized.” Lena understood that taking over the world would require more than brute strength and force. Money and influence would be required and what better why to advance technology on this planet than cornering the market by eliminating the competition. 

“Great work, Sam,” she says appreciatively. 

“Also, I don’t know if you heard about Maxwell Lord?”

Lena quirks an eyebrow. “What about him?”

“He was murdered last night,” she whispers, leaning forward in her chair. “And — not to sound…insensitive? — I think now might be a good time to snatch up his whopping two-thirds majority ownership.” Lena smiles, amused by the ambitious glint in her CFO’s eyes. 

“I agree. Put forward an offer.”

“Consider it done,” Sam beams.

“I know I’ve said this before but I really do appreciate all your help, Sam,” Lena starts, looking away for a moment. “I know that things may look a…certain way.” She thinks back to the carnage she saw last night that now dominated every news organization in the country. The government was controlling the optics, desperate to stop the masses from cheering on the fallen hero. So far, it wasn’t working nearly as well as they’d hoped.

Sam waves her off. “Of course. Lena, I’ve known you a long time and I know that you don’t make any decisions lightly. And neither does Kara. You both saved my life, saved the world more times than anyone can count. I know that you’re doing all of this because you want the world to be a better place and I believe that you can do it. I want you to do it, I want that for Ruby. So I will do whatever I can to help, whatever you guys need.” Admittedly, Lena was hesitant to share their plans of conquest, unsure of how her dear friend would react. But Sam, ever so supportive, had latched onto the vision immediately.

“Thank you Sam. It means a lot to me.” The pair exchange smiles before the call ends. Lena sets the tablet aside, exits the lab and heads up to her office. She’s been working for several hours straight, lots of business to catch up to after days of playing fugitive with Kara. 

She stops just outside her office and stares at the desk where Jess sat dutifully everyday, diligent and at the ready. God she misses her, misses her genuine kindness stolen from the world far too soon. She halts in her tracks when she enters and eyes him standing in her balcony, totally unprepared for what would most likely be a painful confrontation. 

Nevertheless, Lena steels herself and walks out to meet him, finally gaining his attention when she says, “James?” 

He turns slightly, his forearms still resting on the railing in front of them. “Hey.” There’s something off about him that she can’t quite place, a stiffness to his gruff voice and an almost vacant look in his pitch black eyes. Were his eyes always that dark?

“What are you doing here?” she asks more coldly than she means to, her defences already flared instinctively. It’s the only way she knows to protect herself.

If he notices, it doesn’t show. “I needed to see you.”

She folds her arms across her chest, unsure of what else to do with them. “What for?”

“To know that you’re okay.” He straightens his stance, eyes narrowed in at the deep red bruising on Lena’s slender neck where her blouse remains unbuttoned. She made no attempt to conceal it with makeup. He frowns. “Is Kara hurting you?”

“No, absolutely not,” she answers defensively, lividly. Never once has Lena feared for her safety while in the presence of the rogue Kryptonian, even in the moments where she probably should have. There is something so addictive about the way Kara holds her, so dominant and strong, just enough to bruise but not really hurt. Even in the heat of passion, even in the depths of crimson swirling in her eyes, Lena could see the unspoken need for consent that would give her a chance to say stop. But Lena never did, she could never get enough of the power behind every touch as she relished being marked and claimed by Kara Zor-El.

“Lena, whatever Kara is doing to you, it isn’t right,” he says, closing the distance between them too quickly to be humanly possible. She steps back a few from the sudden closeness that no longer offered the comfort it once did. 

“But she can’t force you to do anything anymore.” He reaches out a hand, half of his body still angled away from her. She just stares at it blankly. “I can protect you now.”

“What the hell do you think is going on, James?” she demands through gritted teeth, spurning the insinuation. “That Kara somehow coerced me?” She scoffs. “Kara hasn’t forced me to do anything that I didn’t want to do. I’m with Kara because I _choose_ to be.”

“You...wanted _this?_ You....” He trails off, balling his fist closely.

She sighs heavily. “This…this isn’t the way I wanted things to happen. You have to know that. And while I’m sorry that I hurt you, I won’t apologize for loving her.” A pained look spreads across his face, cutting Lena deep, but it’s quickly chased away by a contortion of anger and bitterness. 

“You know, I really wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt,” he begins with sneer. “I wanted to believe that maybe you’re just a victim in all this, that maybe you’re just scared and confused. But you really are a Luthor, aren’t you Lena? So obsessed with power you would do _anything_ to have it.” Lena trembles with a barely contained rage at his seething words, her chest heaving up and down with heavy breaths. James stalks its movement and smiles in way that reminds her of Lex, so full of malice. It’s a low blow and he knows it, just how sensitive she is about her Luthor genes, how terrified she is of being just as deranged as them. He has never allowed her to forget it.

He inches a little closer but his towering frame does not intimidate her. “Is that what drew you to her, even when you thought she was only human? Does it excite you? How many times did you think about her when I was the one fucking you? Is that why you never made a sound? Because you knew if you did, it would be her name you screamed?” 

Her clenched jaw twitches uncontrollably under the strain. “You’re vile.”

His entire body shakes with mirth. “ _Me?_ You’re the one aiding and abetting a mass murderer and yet _I’m_ the vile one?” 

“I don’t have to explain myself to _you_ ,” she says in a icy, contemptuous tone that leaves him temporarily unsettled. 

His gaze softens and he asks brokenly, “Did you ever love me?” 

The answer falls from her lips like lead. “I tried to, I wanted to. But we both knew what this was when we started it, James.” Her relationship with him always felt as fragile as glass, like a house of cards waiting to collapse. It wouldn’t have been so hard if it was meant to be but neither one was willing to concede. Eventually Lena had convinced herself that she wasn’t cut out for love. And James let her believe it. 

“So that’s it then?” He scoffs.

A sad smile tugs at the corners of her lips. “It was always inevitable, wasn’t it?” She turns away, hugging herself close. It’s too much, more than she’s willing to deal with right now. “I think you should leave.” 

“I have to stop Kara,” he tells her, finally turning his entire body to her. That’s when she notices his fully healed arm, the purplish and unnatural hue to the prominent veins in his hand. “I have to be the hero this world needs.” His disturbingly dark eyes rest on Lena again, reminiscent of a black hole. 

“It’s not too late for you to walk away. For you to be on the right side of history.” A lump moves from the base of his ear down the length of his thick neck and disappears again at the shoulder. He grunts a little from the discomfort of the parasite wrapping itself firmly around his spine, entwining irreversibly with his nervous system.

“James, what happened to you?” A startled Lena stumbles back when a fire engulfs his hands, the back of legs hitting the railing, trapping her in a corner. 

“You know that old saying? Fight fire with fire.” 

“You stole powers from an alien,” she gasps, a mixture of anger and disgust.

He nods, a smirk slowly emerging. “Turns out the Children of Liberty are a lot more resourceful than we originally thought.” Lena’s scowl deepens so much it threatens to become permanent. She had implored James to disavow having any connection to these dangerous fanatics weeks ago, an exercise in futility. When did he ever listen to her? 

“So you’re working with them.” She shakes her head in disapproval. “Do you even know who these people are? Who their leader is?” 

“Of course. So do you actually, we’ve all met before,” he says with deliberate vagueness. “Oh don’t look so shocked Lena! You said it yourself, why shouldn’t humans be as powerful as aliens?”

“Not at the expense of innocent lives, James!” she shouts, insulted that he would dare to compare her research into harun-el with this abomination. He simply shrugs, completely unresponsive to the fact that his own desperate need for power and recognition resulted in deaths. Maybe he just didn’t care anymore.

“I couldn’t just sit idly by and let Kara kill more humans like you do,” he spat.

“They deserved it,” Lena hears herself saying before she can think better of it. Fuck, why pretend anymore when Kara has given her the chance to embrace every depraved thought she kept hidden inside those little boxes. 

“So does Kara,” he states calmly. “She’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. She will turn on you eventually Lena because you’re human too. You just can’t see it.” He edges into her personal space and grabs her shoulders roughly. He yanks her forward, his broad lips ghosting her ear as he whispers menacingly, “But you will soon enough.” His grasp is strong, enhanced by his theft of power but it soon releases when his body is flung violently through the bulletproof window and into her office. Lena recoils involuntarily from the spray of glass but relaxes when she recognizes the black, indestructible fabric shielding her. 

James picks himself off the glass covered floor awkwardly, wincing a little from the merciless blow that wrecked his entire frame. Kara’s eyes ignite with a white-hot fury as she stands territorially in front of the shattered doorway, blocking Lena from his view. 

“You don’t touch her,” the blonde snarls like an enraged lion as she zooms over to him, pinning him against the wall with punishing jabs. 

“ **No one touches her!** ” The powerful, unearthly rumble in her voice raises the hair on Lena’s skin as it reverberates throughout the entire building like thunder. It was, undoubtedly, the most dangerous sound Lena has ever heard and yet, she has never felt safer.

“She is _mine!_ ” Rage bubbles over inside her, oozing out like liquid fire just thinking about someone else’s hands on Lena. It’s an unforgivable transgression.

“She doesn’t belong to you,” he croaks out defiantly, unable to shrug off the immense force of Kara’s punches but he manages to stand boldly, a bloodied fucking mess. “I’m only giving you one chance to turn yourself in.” 

Kara’s lips twitch upward into a cruel smile, red veins raised along her face, ebbing and pulsing in tune with the rise and fall of her breaths. “Oh how generous of you, _Jimmy_.” She chuckles darkly. “It’s almost sad that you’ve reduced yourself to this. It’s like you’re begging me to kill you.” 

He yells out in frustration as he lurches forward gracelessly, connecting a right hook to her jaw. She doesn’t even acknowledge it, her head tilting slightly in annoyance as she delivers a disorienting slap to his face. He staggers back like a drunkard, a ringing in his ear that won’t go away, but arrogance prevents him from backing down while he still can.

She weaves and ducks effortlessly around the frenzy of fireballs and wild punches thrown aimlessly at her. Sweat rolls off his skin, soaking his close-fitting T-shirt as he stumbles forward, heaving with nausea. His momentum drops significantly, his heart beats erratically and his focus dulls as the parasite demands more energy than he can give. It was killing him. He reaches out to Kara, desperate to recharge but he’s too slow. She squints her eyes, activating her X-ray vision to locate the parasite fastened to his spine.

“You are truly despicable,” she says in a voice dripping with venom. She appears behind him in the blink of an eye and curls her fingers around his vertebral column in the same breath. “Let me put you out of your misery.” Without hesitation Kara rips his spine out and disintegrates the screeching leech attached to it with her heat vision. James falls to the floor face forward, his eyes still widened in shock and fear, his mouth hanging open. 

Lena lets out a long held breath. 

“Lena.” Kara speeds over to her, brushing her knuckles along the flushed skin. The storm of rage and darkness dissipates from her features as she surveys Lena for any sign of injury. “Are you okay?” 

She nods quickly, finally lifting her gaze from James’s lifeless body. “I’m okay.” 

“You sure?” The softness in her voice draws Lena’s full attention. 

“Yes darling I’m sure.” She places a hand on Kara’s broad chest, feeling her thumping heart beneath her fingertips. “How did you know he was here?”

“I didn’t. It was your heart. I heard it beating so fast.” One thing that Kara quickly noticed when she first came to earth was how distinct human heart beats were and Lena’s was, irrefutably, the most beautiful sound she has ever heard. It fluttered in a melody not unlike a siren calling sailors to jump overboard into the treacherous waters below. 

Kara would gladly drown in it. Again and again.

A pinkness rises in Lena’s cheeks. “I didn’t know you’d be listening at all.”

“I am always listening for you,” Kara says softly, showing that rare form of vulnerability that only Lena is privy to. “ _Always, Lena_.” She wraps her arms around the brunette, pulling her into a warmth of reassurance and love. Lena nuzzles into the crook of Kara’s neck, burrowing into the solace of a killer without any scolding from a guilty conscience. That voice is gone now. They break out of the embrace when a shrill tone breaks the silence. Lena bends down and picks James’s phone off the ground. 

An unknown caller appears. “Mr. Olsen. There’s been an attack on Shelley Island so we’ll need to regroup elsewhere.” His voice is rough with a slight inflection of panic but Lena knows it all too well.

 _We’ve all met before_. James’s cryptic words play over and over in Lena’s mind and the voice on the other end of line solidifies a growing suspicion. 

Her lips curl up into a wicked smile as she answers, “Hello Ben.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye bye James! I had to split this chapter up because it was getting too long so the next one should be up soon. Maybe, don’t hold me to it :). Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading!


End file.
